Hostname: page-component-6bf8c574d5-mggfc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-02-22T15:00:03.693Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

CHICKEN OR EGG? RETHINKING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE SILVER AND TINNED CERAMIC VESSEL ASSEMBLAGES

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 February 2018

S. Aulsebrook*
Affiliation:
Independent Researcher
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Since the 1960s, when the existence of tinned ceramic vessels in the Late Bronze Age Aegean was first recognised, our knowledge of this phenomenon and the catalogue of known examples have expanded significantly. Even before the nature of these objects was fully understood, scholars had suggested that their primary purpose was to imitate metal, particularly silver, vessels. Several silver vessel assemblages, including one from the tholos at Kokla, have been singled out for their perceived special relationship with tinned ceramics. However, closer analysis of tinned vessels has suggested that they were less similar to silver vessels than previously thought, especially in terms of their range of forms, details of shape and even colour. Recent scholarship has also emphasised that the concept of imitation is very complex and its investigation requires a more nuanced approach. Yet references to tinned vessels as straightforward imitations of, or even substitutes for, silver vessels remain common. In 2014, an opportunity arose to examine the Kokla silver vessels in greater detail. A strong connection between the Kokla group and tinned vessels is evident, although this does not mean that the latter depended upon assemblages such as the former for inspiration. The unique features of the Kokla group suggest it may have been a local innovation to emulate the usage of tinned vessels while simultaneously stressing the higher social status of its users. This paper concludes that situating tinned vessels within the ceramic tradition and thus regarding them as an enhanced form of ceramic, rather than an inferior form of metal vessel, better explains the nature of this phenomenon.

Η Κότα ή το Αυγό; Αναθεωρώντας τη Σχέση μεταξύ Συνόλων Αργυρών και Επικασσιτερωμένων Κεραμικών Αγγείων.

Από τη δεκαετία του 1960, όταν πρωτοαναγνωρίσθηκε η ύπαρξη επικασσιτερωμένων κεραμικών αγγείων στην Ύστερη Εποχή του Χαλκού, η γνώση μας αυτού του φαινομένου και ο κατάλογος των γνωστών παραδειγμάτων επεκτάθηκε σημαντικά. Ακόμα και πριν γίνει πλήρως κατανοητή η φύση αυτών των αντικειμένων, ερευνητές είχαν προτείνει ότι η πρωταρχική τους χρήση ήταν να μιμηθούν μετάλλινα αγγεία, ιδιαίτερα αργυρά. Αρκετά σύνολα αργυρών αγγείων, συμπεριλαμβανομένου ενός συνόλου από το θολωτό τάφο στον Κόκλα, έχουν επιλεχθεί για τη θεωρημένη ειδική σχέση τους με τα επικασσιτερωμένα αγγεία. Εντούτοις, η διεξοδικότερη ανάλυση επικασσιτερωμένων αγγείων έχει προτείνει ότι ήταν λιγότερο όμοια με τα αργυρά σκεύη από ότι θεωρούνταν προηγουμένως, ειδικά όσον αφορά το εύρος των σχημάτων τους, αλλά και τις επιμέρους λεπτομέρειες τους, ακόμα και τα χρώματα. Η πρόσφατη έρευνα έχει επίσης τονίσει ότι η έννοια της μίμησης είναι πολύ περίπλοκη και η μελέτη της απαιτεί μια πλέον ενδελεχή προσέγγιση. Όμως οι αναφορές στην επικασσιτερωμένη κεραμική ως σαφείς απομιμήσεις, ή ακόμα ως υποκατάστατα των αργυρών αγγείων παραμένουν κοινές. Το 2014, προέκυψε μια ευκαιρία να εξεταστούν λεπτομερέστερα τα αργυρά αγγεία από τον Κόκλα. Είναι σαφής η ισχυρή σύνδεση μεταξύ του συνόλου του Κόκλα και επικασσιτερωμένων αγγείων, παρόλο που αυτό δε σημαίνει ότι τα τελευταία εξαρτώνται για έμπνευση από σύνολα όπως το πρώτο. Τα μοναδικά χαρακτηριστικά του συνόλου του Κόκλα υποδηλώνουν ότι ίσως ήταν μια τοπική καινοτομία να μιμηθούν τη χρήση των επικασσιτερωμένων αγγείων, τονίζοντας ταυτοχρόνως την υψηλή κοινωνική θέση των χρηστών τους. Αυτό το άρθρο καταλήγει στο συμπέρασμα ότι τοποθετώντας επικασσιτερωμένα αγγεία εντός της κεραμικής παράδοσης και έτσι θεωρώντας τα ως βελτιωμένη μορφή κεραμικών, παρά ως κατώτερη μορφή μεταλλικών αγγείων, εξηγείται καλύτερα η φύση αυτού του φαινομένου.

Μετάφραση: Στέλιος Ιερεμίας.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © The Council, British School at Athens 2018 

INTRODUCTION

Tinned ceramicsFootnote 1 have been found in many places around the Aegean, including Crete, the Greek mainland and Rhodes. They are simply ceramic pots originally covered with a thin layer of tin. Tinned vessels have generally been considered a Mycenaean phenomenon (Driessen and MacDonald Reference Driessen and MacDonald1984, 66; Popham et al. Reference Popham, Betts, Cameron, Catling, Evely, Higgins and Smyth1984, 301 n. 23; Godart and Tzedakis Reference Godart and Tzedakis1992, 91), although recent evidence may indicate that such a conclusion was premature. Many scholars still connect them with the period of Late Helladic (LH) IIIA1 (Rutter Reference Rutter and Cline2010, 418; Davis, Bennet, and Shelmerdine Reference Davis, Bennet, Shelmerdine, Betancourt, Karageorghis, Laffineur and Niemeier1999, 447). This is probably because when the earliest in-depth analysis of the phenomenon was published (Immerwahr Reference Immerwahr1966), almost all known examples were contemporary with that period. However, further finds have demonstrated that their chronological range was much wider than previously suspected; the earliest context in which a tinned vessel has been recovered dated to Middle Minoan (MM) II–III (Alberti Reference Alberti2001, 185), and they have also appeared in Late Minoan (LM)/LH IIIB contexts.

Initially the consensus interpretation regarded tinned vessels as imitations of silver vessels. Work by Gillis on tinning undermined many arguments used to support this hypothesis, yet somehow it has remained the dominant explanation for their existence. Why is this problematic? As well as affecting the interpretation of the role of tinned ceramics in Late Bronze Age Aegean societies, it has also impacted upon analysis of the contemporary silver vessel assemblage. Metalwork, due to its convertibility, is under-represented in the archaeological record (Wiener Reference Wiener and Gale1991, 326; Aulsebrook Reference Aulsebrook2017). The majority of precious metal vessels found in well-dated contexts on the Greek mainland come from the Mycenae shaft graves (Aulsebrook Reference Aulsebrook2012; Karo Reference Karo1930; Mylonas Reference Mylonas1972–3). Given the relative scarcity of silver vessels, and metal vessels more generally, after LH I scholars have looked for alternative ways to study them; therefore, the presumed link between tinned and silver vessels has been used to justify applying observations concerning the former to the latter. This has been especially significant for the interpretation of silver vessel assemblages, which are exceedingly rare.

One of these silver vessel assemblages comes from the Kokla tholos tomb (Demakopoulou Reference Demakopoulou, Hägg and Nordquist1990; Reference Demakopoulou, Zerner, Zerner and Winder1993; Reference Demakopoulou, Driessen and Farnoux1997). During 2014 the metal vessels from Kokla were undergoing conservation at the Athens National Museum and I was granted access to examine them.Footnote 2 As the least well studied of the three post-LH I silver vessel assemblages that have been specifically linked by scholars to tinned ceramics,Footnote 3 insights gained from the analysis of the Kokla group should help clarify the relationship between tinned and silver vessels. This paper begins with an examination of the evidence concerning tinned ceramics. It then discusses the relationship between silver and tinned vessels, the silver vessel assemblages and the significance of the data from Kokla. A list of sites from which tinned vessels have been recovered and a catalogue of individually published tinned vessels are given in the Appendix, within which detailed reference citations are provided.

THE PHENOMENON OF TINNED CERAMICS

There was much speculation on the nature of this distinctive surface treatment before scientific analysis provided an answer. Evans described it as a ‘curious dark varnish’ that ‘may have been intended to produce the illusion of metal work for funereal show’ (Evans Reference Evans1905, 515). Furumark called it a ‘special kind of surface treatment … a coating of an unfixed pigment of greyish colour applied, as it seems, after the firing’ (Furumark Reference Furumark1972a, 12).Footnote 4 Immerwahr carried out the first systematic investigation, after more examples came to light at the Athenian Agora excavations, and conclusively demonstrated that these ceramics had been originally covered with tin (Immerwahr Reference Immerwahr1966).Footnote 5

Identifying tinned ceramic is not a straightforward task. In the cold atmosphere of tombs the foil suffers from an affliction known as ‘tin pest’, a process of oxidation that causes the tin to become powdery and flake away (Gillis Reference Gillis, Gillis, Risberg and Sjöberg1997, 134; Cardarelli Reference Cardarelli2008, 204; Noll and Heimann Reference Noll and Heimann2016, 194). When excavated, tinned pottery usually has a smattering of small irregular grey-black spots, which can be mistaken for some form of dirt. It can easily be overlooked, and in some cases traces have only been recognised during a later re-examination of sherds (Immerwahr Reference Immerwahr1966, 395; Alberti Reference Alberti2001);Footnote 6 therefore, it is likely that further unidentified tinned ceramics from older excavations are still awaiting discovery (Gillis Reference Gillis, Olausson and Vandkilde2000, 232). Tin readily dissolves in hydrochloric acid, which was often used to clean sherds (Farnsworth Reference Farnsworth1966, 396).Footnote 7 The colour of the traces can vary from brown (Dimaki and Parageorgiou Reference Dimaki, Papageorgiou and Mazarakis Ainian2015, 854) to a thin black-grey layer over a white substance (Immerwahr Reference Immerwahr1966, 382),Footnote 8 and even green to blue (Popham and Catling Reference Popham and Catling1974, 209). Taking these factors into consideration, it is possible that the phenomenon of tinning ceramics may have been significantly more common and widespread than current evidence suggests.Footnote 9

Research has taken place to determine how the tin coating was applied. Experiments have demonstrated that a similar effect can be produced by spreading a protein-based glue on the surface, and then dipping the entire vessel into molten tin (Holmberg, K. Reference Holmberg1983, 384; Mountjoy Reference Mountjoy1993, 66). The use of this method would explain why the underside of the base was sometimes coated, even on closed shapes (Mountjoy Reference Mountjoy, Hägg, Nordquist and Wells1996, 54–5).Footnote 10 However, close examination of the surface of some sherds from Asine showed wrinkles that were comparable to those produced from overlapping strips of tin foil (Gillis Reference Gillis1991–2, 27). The use of tin foil in elongated strips was also argued for by Pantelidou (Reference Pantelidou1971, 435; Reference Pantelidou1975, 173), due to her observation of grooves visible in the coating on a kylix from an Athenian tomb. Furthermore, the tin had flaked away from the ceramic surface in a way that only happens when tin has been made into foil (Gillis Reference Gillis1991–2, 28; Gillis and Bohm Reference Gillis, Bohm, Burragato, Grubessi and Lazzarini1994, 219–20). Similar findings were reported by another research group (Noll, Holm and Born Reference Noll, Holm and Born1980, 30; Noll and Heimann Reference Noll and Heimann2016, 193). The foil may have been extended onto the base in order to create a neater effect (Gillis Reference Gillis1994, 58).

During a series of experiments to test various methods of applying the tin coating, only the use of foil consistently produced a shiny, smooth and even surface (Gillis Reference Gillis1994, 57).Footnote 11 Analysis of the underside of the coating suggested a binder was used, most probably colophony (pine resin) (Gillis Reference Gillis1994, 61; Reference Gillis, Vendrell-Saz, Pradell, Molera and Garcia1995, 36).Footnote 12 The binder would have secured the foil in place and filled in defects in the ceramic surface to produce a more even finish (Gillis Reference Gillis1994, 58). Applying the foil in strips would have been time-consuming and particularly difficult where the surface morphology was complicated, for example near and on the handles (Mountjoy Reference Mountjoy1995, 31).Footnote 13 The binder would have mitigated this problem to some extent (Gillis Reference Gillis1994, 58). On the other hand, less tin would have been required than that needed for a molten tin bath. Although the majority of the evidence points towards the use of foil, it is possible that different workshops utilised either technique or a combination of both.Footnote 14

A series of analyses demonstrated that the tin used on some vessels from Asine had undergone a specific heat treatment, which caused it to oxidise to a golden colour (Gillis Reference Gillis1991–2, 28; Gillis and Bohm Reference Gillis, Bohm, Burragato, Grubessi and Lazzarini1994, 223; Gillis, Holmberg and Widelöv Reference Gillis, Holmberg, Widelöv and Vincenzini1995, 259; Gillis Reference Gillis, Young, Pollard, Budd and Ixer1999a; Reference Gillis, Betancourt, Karageorghis, Laffineur and Niemeier1999b).Footnote 15 The deposition of both golden and silvery tinned ceramics has been proven in Chamber Tomb I:1 at Asine through XPS analysis (Gillis Reference Gillis, Betancourt, Karageorghis, Laffineur and Niemeier1999b, 291–3; Reference Gillis, Olausson and Vandkilde2000, 233). The foil must have been treated prior to attachment, as otherwise the effectiveness of the binder would have been compromised (Gillis Reference Gillis1994, 59; Gillis and Bohm Reference Gillis, Bohm, Burragato, Grubessi and Lazzarini1994, 224).

Unlike tinning copper, which has practical applications such as preparing copper vessels for long-term food storage (Untracht Reference Untracht1968, 51), the tinning of ceramic has no functional purpose. Nevertheless, tinned vessels are known beyond the Late Bronze Age Aegean; similar vessels have been found on Cyprus, in the Iron Age cemetery at Salamis (Karageorghis Reference Karageorghis1974, 16–18, 55–7; Muhly Reference Muhly, Franklin, Olin and Wertime1978, 47),Footnote 16 in Late Classical and Hellenistic Macedonia (Kotitsa Reference Kotitsa, Drougou and Touratsoglou2012) and in prehistoric Italy, Austria, Hungary, France, Germany and Switzerland (Noll and Heimann Reference Noll and Heimann2016, 197). The usage of metals to cover ceramics is found in many other societies as well (Gillis Reference Gillis, Cleland and Stears2004, 56). This close relationship between metals and another material is not unprecedented in the Aegean vessel assemblage. A tin-lined ivory pyxis was recovered from tomb I at the Athens Agora (Immerwahr Reference Immerwahr1971, 166 [I-16]), and a partially gilded ivory bowl from chamber tomb 10 at Dendra (Persson Reference Persson1942, 91), while fragments of ivory and bronze from tomb XXVI at Prosymna were interpreted as the remains of a conical rhyton (Blegen Reference Blegen1937, 98, 354). Faience vessels were often gilded or plated with bronze (Foster Reference Foster1979, 131–2), and faience and metal were also combined simultaneously to decorate ostrich egg rhyta. Fittings and ornamentation of bronze and gold were sometimes added to stone vessels (Warren Reference Warren1969, 162–3).

Tinned ceramics also add to our understanding of the East Mediterranean metals trade. No references to tin have been found in Linear A or B,Footnote 17 and pure tin is rare on the Greek mainland throughout the Bronze Age (Gillis and Clayton Reference Gillis, Clayton and Tzachili2008, 134). With the exception of the tinning of ceramics, it is rare to find this metal used in the Aegean for any other purpose than as a constituent of bronze.Footnote 18 No tin vessels have been found in the Aegean, despite their appearance elsewhere in the East Mediterranean, for example on the Ulu Burun shipwreck (Bass et al. Reference Bass, Pulak, Collon and Weinstein1989, 12). The presence of tinned ceramics therefore reaffirms the presence of unalloyed tin in the Aegean, although it is not yet possible to determine its origin.Footnote 19

The Distribution and Chronology of Tinned Ceramics

Tin-coated ceramic vessels have been found at a range of sites across the Aegean (Fig. 1). These concentrate in three regions; the Greek mainland, Crete and Rhodes. No examples have been reported from the Cyclades; this may be because there are so few known Late Bronze Age (LBA) Cycladic tomb sites.Footnote 20 The following section provides an overview of their find locations. For further details see the Appendix.

Fig. 1. Map of the Aegean, showing the sites from which tinned vessels are known or have been reported. (1) Archanes; (2) Armenoi; (3) Gournes; (4) Isopata; (5) Katsambas; (6) Knossos; (7) Kritsa; (8) Ligortyno; (9) Mavro Spelio; (10) Phylaki Apokoronou; (11) Sellopoulo; (12) Zapher Papoura; (13) Voudeni; (14) Argos; (15) Asine; (16) Berbati; (17) Dendra; (18) Mycenae; (19) Nauplion; (20) Prosymna; (21) Athens; (22) Varkiza-Vari; (23) Vravron; (24) Prosilio; (25) Tanagra; (26) Thebes; (27) Ambelofytou Lagou; (28) Ellenika Antheias; (29) Myrsinochorion Routsi; (30) Nichoria; (31) Peristeria; (32) Pylos; (33) Tourliditsa; (34) Tragana; (35) Kalapodi; (36) Kazanaki; (37) Ialysos; (38) Maritsa. Map by author.

Crete

There are 12 Cretan sites from which tinned vessels have been published or reported, including the earliest known example of a tinned vessel found thus far. No tinned ceramics have been reported in LM IIIC contexts.Footnote 21 The chronology of the Cretan finds is set out below with the exception of those from Archanes, for which there is no information beyond the fact of their existence (Kanta Reference Kanta1980, 315).Footnote 22

Neopalatial Period (MM III–LM IB)

Recognised after a restudy of material from the Mavro Spelio cemetery,Footnote 23 a tinned MM III–LM I conical cup was recovered from Tomb IX, which was in use from MM II–III (Alberti Reference Alberti2001, 185, 179 n. 24 fig. 6e). The archaeological record then seems to indicate a hiatus in their manufacture, as no tinned vessels have been reported from LM IA or IB contexts (Hatzaki Reference Hatzaki and Momigliano2007, 208). This lacuna may stem from a lack of analysis (Alberti Reference Alberti2001, 179 n. 24) rather than a temporary lapse in production; scholars have simply not expected tinned ceramics to appear in Cretan contexts pre-dating LM II.

Final/Postpalatial Period (LM II–IIIB)

Tinned ceramics have been recovered from two LM II contexts: Katsambas Tomb Γ (Alexiou Reference Alexiou1967, 47–8) and Isopata Tomb 5 (Evans Reference Evans1914, 24–5). The latter also contained ceramic vessels with polychrome decoration.Footnote 24 The existence of such decoration highlights an apparent interest in the selective transformation of ceramics upon entry to the mortuary sphere that reached beyond tinning. LM IIIA1 tinned ceramics were also recovered from the Knossian region, at Katsambas and Sellopoulo (Table 1). Another possible contemporary example may have been found in the Temple TombFootnote 25 at Knossos (Gillis Reference Gillis1991, 28).

Table 1. Finds of tinned ceramics within LM IIIA1 assemblages.

Tinned ceramics continued to be deposited in this region during LM IIIA2 (Table 2). They were also present at Mavro Spelio during LM IIIA: a sherd from Tomb XIII tested positive for tin (Kanta Reference Kanta1980, 327). As noted by Hatzaki (Reference Hatzaki and Momigliano2007, 230), tinned ceramics were apparently not deposited in the Knossian region after LM IIIA2 (with the possible exception of Zapher Papoura Tomb 99).Footnote 26 The assemblages at Zapher Papoura are smaller than those from Katsambas and Sellopoulo, although this may reflect the relative paucity of pottery from this site.

Table 2. Finds of tinned ceramics from the Knossian region after LM IIIA1.

From LM IIIA2 onwards, tinned ceramics were found outside the Knossian region in West Crete at Phylaki Apokoronou and Armenoi, on the Mesara at Ligortyno and elsewhere in Central Crete at Gournes and Kritsa (Table 3). The number of vessels deposited in these contexts was also smaller, suggesting a possible decline in the tinned vessel assemblage size over time, although the extent of the presence of tinned ceramics at Armenoi has not yet been confirmed.

Table 3. Finds of tinned ceramics on Crete beyond the Knossian region.

Greek Mainland

Tinned ceramics have been found at 24 sites on the Late Bronze Age Greek mainland. They are predominantly concentrated in the Argolid, Attica and Messenia (Table 4). The number of examples from Messenia is probably significantly underestimated because the majority have not been published; Korres reported tinned ceramics from Tourliditsa, Myrsinochorion Routsi,Footnote 27 and Peristeria, and that examples were held at the Museums of Pylos, Chora and Athens (Korres Reference Korres1974, 152; Mountjoy Reference Mountjoy, Hägg, Nordquist and Wells1996, 55 n. 46). Pantelidou (Reference Pantelidou1975, 173) also reported at least eight further tinned vessels in the National Museum stores, which were apparently from Attica.Footnote 28 Gillis suggested that other tombs at Mycenae and Dendra contained tinned ceramics (Gillis Reference Gillis, De Miro, Godart and Sacconi1996b, 1202 n. 18) and reported further sherds from an unknown tomb or tombs at Asine (Gillis Reference Gillis, Hägg, Nordquist and Wells1996a, 98). Four tinned kylikes from the cemetery at Tanagra, dated to LH IIIA–B, were previously on display at the Thebes Archaeological Museum (Demakopoulou and Konsola Reference Demakopoulou and Konsola1981, 85, 87); these are awaiting publication, and it is possible that further tinned vessels were recovered from this site. No LH IIIC tinned ceramics have been positively identified.

Table 4. Number of sites in each region of the Greek mainland at which tinned vessels have been found and estimate of the total number of tinned vessels from each region.

Prepalatial Period LH I–II

The earliest known mainland tinned vessel is perhaps from a built chamber tomb, T.164, at Argos (Papadimitriou Reference Papadimitriou2001, 55–6 [P11] fig. 11a, pl. 8a). It was an unusual shape and is discussed in more detail below. Several tinned vessels were found associated with later burials in the same tomb (Papadimitriou Reference Papadimitriou2001). Three tinned goblets were found with other LH IIB vessels deposited during an early usage phase in Asine Tomb I:7 (Sjöberg Reference Sjöberg2004). There are no known examples outside of the Argolid from this period.

LH IIIA

The number and range of sites with tinned ceramics expanded dramatically during this period. Two pit graves in the southern cemetery at Athens, dated LH IIB–IIIA1, contained sizeable assemblages of tinned vessels (Pantelidou Reference Pantelidou1975). LH IIIA1 tinned ceramics are known from Asine,Footnote 29 Athens, Dendra, Ellenika Antheias, Kalapodi and Varkiza-VariFootnote 30 (Table 5). A tinned jug from Kalapodi had a separate piece of gold sheet around the base of its neck (Dimaki and Papageorgiou Reference Dimaki, Papageorgiou and Mazarakis Ainian2015, 854 fig. 7). This may indicate that the artisans who tinned it were unaware of the technique to recolour tin to resemble gold, even though the process was relatively simple (Gillis, Holmberg and Widelöv Reference Gillis, Holmberg, Widelöv and Vincenzini1995, 259).Footnote 31

Table 5. Known examples of LH IIIA1 tinned ceramics.

LH IIIA2 tinned ceramics have been found at Asine, Berbati,Footnote 32 Mycenae, Nichoria, Prosilio,Footnote 33 Thebes, Varkiza-Vari and Vravron (Table 6). Several contexts, which cannot be more precisely dated within LH IIIA, have also yielded tinned vessels. These are Athens Agora Tomb III (Immerwahr Reference Immerwahr1971), Mycenae Tomb 502 (Wace Reference Wace1932), Nauplion Evangelistria Tomb 3 (Piteros Reference Piteros2008; Reference Piteros, Schallin and Tournavitou2015),Footnote 34 Tragana Tholos 1 (Kourouniotis Reference Kourouniotis1914; Gulgielmino Reference Guglielmino1979), Kazanaki tholos (Adrymi-Sismani and Alexandrou Reference Adrymi-Sismani, Alexandrou and Mazarakis Ainian2009) and Voudeni Tombs 4 and 75 (Kolonas Reference Kolonas2009). A tinned kylix sherd from Ambelofyto Lagou was also suggested to date to LH IIIA (Davis, Bennet, and Shelmerdine Reference Davis, Bennet, Shelmerdine, Betancourt, Karageorghis, Laffineur and Niemeier1999, 447).Footnote 35

Table 6. Known examples of LH IIIA2 tinned ceramics.

Many tinned vessels seem to have been deposited at Prosymna, although this was not noted in its publication (Blegen Reference Blegen1937). Immerwahr was the first to note nine tinned vesselsFootnote 36 from Prosymna on display at the Athens National Museum, one of which could be securely identified as kylix no. 712 from Tomb XXXVII (Immerwahr Reference Immerwahr1966, 395). Later, Pantelidou identified another 19 in the National Museum stores (Pantelidou Reference Pantelidou1975, 173), confirming that at least six tombs contained tinned ceramics. Dimaki and Parageorgiou (Reference Dimaki, Papageorgiou and Mazarakis Ainian2015, 850) listed another three from the same site.Footnote 37

LH IIIB

Four tinned vessels were recovered from Tholos III at Pylos (Blegen et al. Reference Blegen, Rawson, Taylour and Donovan1973; Pantelidou Reference Pantelidou1975),Footnote 38 two from Asine Tomb I:2 (Gillis Reference Gillis, Hägg, Nordquist and Wells1996a; Sjöberg Reference Sjöberg2004), and one from Vravron Tomb 3 (Papadopoulos and Kontorli-Papadopoulou Reference Papadopoulos and Kontorli-Papadopoulou2014). Tinned ceramics continued to be deposited in Asine Tomb I:1 (Mountjoy Reference Mountjoy, Hägg, Nordquist and Wells1996; Gillis Reference Gillis, Hägg, Nordquist and Wells1996a) and at Varkiza-Vari (Polychronakou-Sgouritsa Reference Polychronakou-Sgouritsa1988).

Rhodes

There are two sites on this island from which tinned ceramic vessels have been recovered, 20 in total. The majority come from Ialysos, from 10Footnote 39 tombs in assemblages dating from LH IIIA1–B (Benzi Reference Benzi1992).Footnote 40 A single tinned kylix was found at a second cemetery site, Maritsa,Footnote 41 in a tomb used during LH IIIA2–B (Benzi Reference Benzi1992, 410).

Tinned Vessel Shapes

Some tinned vessels were recovered in too fragmented a state for their original form to be recognised. However, it has been possible to identify the shapes of 268 individually published vessels. A summary of their forms can be found in Table 7.Footnote 42 They can be broadly split into three categories; cups and bowls (Fig. 2),Footnote 43 mixing and serving vessels (Fig. 3), and storage vessels (Fig. 4). Currently there are no known examples of tinned cooking vessels or tinned rhyta. Certain distinctive shapes are also absent from the tinned vessel assemblage, such as deep bowls and kraters. Clearly a process of selection took place.

Fig. 2. Sketches of the known tinned cup and bowl forms. Only the most frequent tinned kylix variants are illustrated. From left to right; top: FS 267 kylix, FS 272 kylix, FS 265 kylix, FS 264 kylix; middle: handleless bowl FS 204, shallow angular bowl FS 295, Minoan conical cup; bottom: mug, deep cup, shallow cup. Drawing by author.

Fig. 3. Sketches of the known tinned mixing and serving forms. Clockwise from top right: feeding bottle, stirrup jug, lekane, beaked jug; centre: dipper. Drawing by author.

Fig. 4. Sketches of the known tinned storage forms. Left: stirrup jar; right: alabastron. Drawing by author.

Table 7. Categories of shape found in the tinned vessel assemblages of the Greek mainland, Crete and Rhodes. SAB = Shallow angular bowl.

The most diverse range of tinned shapes is found on the Greek mainland, which may be because its published dataset is so much larger than that of Crete and Rhodes. The form of 199 individually published vessels from the Greek mainland could be identified. The majority are stemmed goblets, followed by handleless and shallow angular bowls. Tinned versions of several shapes, including the dipper, feeding bottle, mug and lekane, are known only from Varkiza-Vari. It has been suggested that the motivation to tin so many unusual shapes was to hide their worn paint (Polychronakou-Sgouritsa Reference Polychronakou-Sgouritsa1988, 100). This does not explain why the users of the tomb chose to deposit those specific vessels, once tinned, rather than less worn examples. Other rare forms include the stirrup jar, known from Asine and Nauplion, and a shallow cup, from Prosymna. An unusual deep cup was recovered from T.164 at Argos. It may have been derived from the Cycladic cup and its shape and handle are reminiscent of metallic forms; it was accompanied by LH I–IIA sherds, but the cup itself should be dated to final Middle Helladic (MH) or early LH I (Papadimitriou Reference Papadimitriou2001, 55). It may have been an antique when deposited, perhaps indicating why it was singled out for tinning. All known tinned jugs belong to the stirrup-handled type.

The majority of the 48 Cretan vessels for which details of shape have been published are stemmed cups (goblets, kylikes and champagne cups). As with the mainland assemblage, the shallow angular and handleless bowls are the next most popular tinned shapes. Pace Preston (Reference Preston2004, 329), tinned drinking vessels have been found in a LM II context, Katsambas Tomb Γ (Alexiou Reference Alexiou1967). The alabastra, from Isopata Tomb 5, are the only known tinned examples of this form. Two tinned stirrup jars were found at Zapher Papoura, and a tinned shallow cup and unusual tinned two-handled dish at Katsambas.Footnote 44 Only one Cretan tinned jug is known, of a different form to mainland tinned jugs.

Only two tinned shapes are known from Rhodes: the kylix and shallow angular bowl. The former outnumbered the latter by 4:1. No handleless bowls have been found. However, these findings are based upon just 21 vessels, and therefore must be treated with caution.

Thus an apparent core of three tinned shapes can be recognised: the stemmed cup, the handleless bowl and the shallow angular bowl. As shown in Fig. 5, they collectively accounted for over 80 per cent of the tinned forms on Crete, over 90 per cent on the Greek mainland and 100 per cent on Rhodes. Establishing this core range took time; several of the earliest known assemblages, including Isopata Tomb 5 (Evans Reference Evans1914), Argos T.164 (Papadimitriou Reference Papadimitriou2001) and Katsambas Tomb Γ (Alexiou Reference Alexiou1967) contained different shapes. All three forms were only certainly present in a few contexts, which date to LH/LM IIIA at the earliest.

Fig. 5. Pie charts comparing the percentage of stemmed cups, handleless bowls, shallow angular bowls and other shapes in the tinned vessel assemblages of Mainland Greece, Crete and Rhodes.

Mountjoy (Reference Mountjoy, Hägg, Nordquist and Wells1996, 55) suggested that Asine Tomb I:1 contained a set of tinned vessels, consisting of one closed pouring vessel and a variety of open shapes. However, three tinned jugs were found in this tomb,Footnote 45 and it cannot be confirmed that the entire ‘set’ was deposited simultaneously. Tinned jugs are relatively rare; only two other contexts contained both a jug and open shapes. Non-tinned jugs may have been used instead, as Mountjoy (Reference Mountjoy2003, 166) suggests, although this undermines the notion that tinning was intended to create a distinct assemblage for mortuary rituals. Jugs are larger than cups and bowls, and require more tin for complete coverage; however, some tombs contained so many smaller tinned vessels that it is difficult to argue the rarity of tinned jugs was due to cost. This issue is discussed further below. It seems that small individualised pots, rather than larger communal vessels, were prioritised for tinning.

It is also evident from Fig. 5 that the stemmed cup dominated the tinned vessel assemblage in all three regions. They are absent from only five contexts yet are the sole constituent of 15 tinned assemblages.Footnote 46 This indicates that, despite the core triad of tinned shapes, stemmed cups were the real focus of tinning. It is therefore interesting that they were not among the first known examples.

In many cases the variant of stemmed cup could be recognised; these are shown in Table 8.Footnote 47 On the Greek mainland 57 stemmed cups with rounded bowls were recovered from 27 different contexts, whereas 40 stemmed cups with angular bowls were recovered from 15 different contexts. On Rhodes the figures are eight rounded stemmed cups from seven different contexts, and seven angular stemmed cups from five different contexts. Among the rounded stemmed cups there is no clear predominant form in either region.

Table 8. Comparison of the variants of stemmed cups on the Greek mainland and Rhodes. The first figure shows the total frequency, the figure in brackets the number of contexts in which each variant was found.

In every context on the Greek mainland and Rhodes where tinned shallow angular bowls are present tinned angular stemmed cups are also found, although the converse is not true.Footnote 48 Such a relationship does not exist between handleless cups and angular stemmed cups. A special relationship between angular kylikes and shallow angular bowls has been mooted by Thomas (Reference Thomas, Gauss, Lindblom, Angus, Smith and Wright2011), and this may provide additional evidence to support such a hypothesis. Whether this means that tinned vessels can be linked to the deliberate archaising move away from continuously curving to angular profiles discussed by Thomas (Reference Thomas, Gauss, Lindblom, Angus, Smith and Wright2011, 303) is less certain. Almost all examples of tinned angular stemmed cups were accompanied by rounded bowl versions as well.Footnote 49 Although the latter are commonly interpreted as drinking vessels, it has been argued that the angular type should be associated with food consumption, as should the shallow angular bowl (Tournavitou Reference Tournavitou1992, 200; Lis Reference Lis, Hitchcock, Laffineur and Crowley2008, 145; Thomas Reference Thomas, Gauss, Lindblom, Angus, Smith and Wright2011, 301). The widespread presence of the angular kylix therefore demonstrates that tinned vessels were used for eating as well as drinking rituals. Coupled with the rarity of tinned jugs, the use of tinned sets as evidence for drinking rituals specifically must be treated with caution.

Tinned Vessel Production

Immerwahr (Reference Immerwahr1966, 382) noted that the majority of tinned vessels recovered from Athens Tomb III were technically inferior or unfinished, with preliminary smoothing but no technical slip or final polishing. This could indicate that these vessels were earmarked for tinning before their manufacture was complete. However, examples with well-finished surfaces have been found at other sites, such as Asine (Mountjoy Reference Mountjoy, Hägg, Nordquist and Wells1996) and Argos (Papadimitriou Reference Papadimitriou2001), and also in Athens Tomb III, alongside unfinished examples.Footnote 50 Furthermore, some vessels were clearly already painted before tinning took place. Examples are known from Asine,Footnote 51 Varkiza-Vari,Footnote 52 Nauplion,Footnote 53 Armenoi,Footnote 54 Ialysos,Footnote 55 and possibly Argos.Footnote 56 Pantelidou stressed that, in some cases, their paint was well worn, implying that these vessels had had a significant use life before being tinned and deposited (Pantelidou Reference Pantelidou1975, 174). A similar pattern is visible at Varkiza-Vari. Unfortunately, investigation of these trends is hampered by the patchiness of the information provided on surface treatment, which is only available for a limited number of tinned vessels.

Their quality also varied widely, even at the same site. This was the case on Rhodes (Benzi Reference Benzi1992, 6). At Varkiza-Vari many tinned vessels were poorly manufactured (Polychronakou-Sgouritsa Reference Polychronakou-Sgouritsa1988, 100). On Crete, they tended to be made using a fine buff fabric (Hatzaki Reference Hatzaki and Momigliano2007, 216). The tinned vessels from Kalapodi were made from good-quality ceramic but details of their construction were poor, causing problems such as lopsidedness; Dimaki and Papageorgiou (Reference Dimaki, Papageorgiou and Mazarakis Ainian2015, 850) suggested this showed indifference from the potter. It is possible that some vessels selected for tinning directly after manufacture were seconds, especially if they were only to be used once. However, there are also many examples of tinned vessels that met the same quality standards as ordinary pottery. Overall, this variability in quality and process of manufacture demonstrates that there was no single chaîne opératoire for the production of tinned vessels. The patterning of this variability indicates that it was not the result of regional or chronological differences.

Immerwahr (Reference Immerwahr1966, 392) suggested that tinned ceramics were primarily manufactured in workshops situated at Knossos and Mycenae, due to their known distribution and apparent connection to C and D Type swords. This hypothesis has been undermined by discoveries of tinned vessels across a much broader area of the Aegean. Pantelidou (Reference Pantelidou1975, 174) argued against the supply of tinned vessels to Athens by a Mycenae-based workshop, as 19 of the 20 examples found in the southern cemetery had the same clay as ordinary unpainted Athenian pottery. Immerwahr (Reference Immerwahr1966, 393) also accepted that some vessels must have been tinned locally, such as those from Ialysos that were originally painted or had a fine surface treatment. A provenance analysis of A863 from Ialysos first gave east Attica as a production centre, which was then altered to Knossos–Thebes, although this should be treated with caution (Jones Reference Jones1986; Benzi Reference Benzi1992, 7). Tinned vessels may have been exported (D'Agata Reference D'Agata2015, 89) or perhaps used in gift exchange (Reeves Reference Reeves2003, 248); however, it is likely that the coating would have been damaged by lengthy periods of transit. Their strong association with mortuary contexts implies that, even if some tinned ceramics were exchanged prior to deposition, this was unlikely to have been the primary motivation for their production. It is perhaps more probable that vessels were traded before being tinned. Further research through provenance analyses would be welcome, in order to examine the networks behind the manufacture of tinned vessels.

Tinned Ceramics in the Mortuary Sphere

Tinned ceramics have been found within a variety of different mortuary assemblages. In most cases it is not possible to tell exactly which other objects accompanied the tinned vessels into the tomb. This is because grave goods, including tinned vessels, and previous burials were often displaced when a new burial took place.Footnote 57 They were therefore treated the same as other ceramics. Objects were sometimes removed from tombs (Wolpert Reference Wolpert, Barrett and Halstead2004, 135), so only part of the assemblage remains. Some tombs containing tinned ceramics were later reused, providing another opportunity for objects to be removed (Dickinson Reference Dickinson2006, 178), or were looted.Footnote 58 However, a general overview of the preserved assemblages can provide some information about the treatment of tinned ceramics during and after deposition in tombs.

Generally, tinned ceramics are found alongside untreated vessels. In some cases, both tinned and non-tinned versions of the same type have been found in the same tomb;Footnote 59 therefore, tinned ceramics do not wholly replace ordinary ceramics in mortuary assemblages. There are several tombs from which both metal and tinned ceramics were recoveredFootnote 60 and it is occasionally possible to see that both formed part of the same burial assemblage.Footnote 61 Therefore, it is difficult to argue that tinned ceramics were always conceptualised as direct replacements for metal vessels; this issue is discussed in more detail below. Tinned vessels have also been found alongside stoneFootnote 62 and ivory vases.Footnote 63 Thus tinned vessels formed part of a wider vessel assemblage. There is no evidence to suggest that they were singled out for deposition in shafts, niches or other features in tombs (contra Borgna Reference Borgna2004, 268). Where tinned vessels have been found within such features, they were accompanied by other ordinary ceramics.Footnote 64

The number of tinned vessels per tomb varies widely from a single specimen to an assemblage of at least 31. These large tinned groups were rarer and need not have been deposited together. For example, as the tinned vessels in Asine Tomb I:1 range from LH IIIA1–IIIB (Mountjoy Reference Mountjoy, Hägg, Nordquist and Wells1996, 64–6), it is more likely that this assemblage was built up through multiple acts of deposition. The size of the tinned assemblage may have depended upon the frequency of ceramic deposition practised within a cemetery, as seen at Zapher Papoura.

Several scholars have remarked on the fact that tinned vessels seem to have been associated with richer tombs (Immerwahr Reference Immerwahr1966, 388; Mee Reference Mee1982, 18; Gillis Reference Gillis, De Miro, Godart and Sacconi1996b, 1202–3). In contrast, less extravagant mortuary assemblages containing tinned vessels, such as at Berbati, have been used to argue that tin was relatively plentiful and easily accessible (Warren Reference Warren1985, 207).Footnote 65 As discussed above, the original contents of each tomb are difficult to ascertain. The definition of a ‘wealthy’ tomb is also not straightforward.Footnote 66 However, such a relationship does seem possible, given the proportion of tombs containing both tinned vessels and gold: 57.5 per cent.Footnote 67 This gives only a rough impression, as several tombs without gold did contain other probable high-value materials, such as silver or ivory, alongside tinned ceramics. Tin itself was costly (Gillis Reference Gillis, Olausson and Vandkilde2000, 231); that it can change colour may have added to its value (Gillis Reference Gillis, Olausson and Vandkilde2000, 234), as might its rarity in the Aegean as an unalloyed metal. It is important, therefore, to approach tinned vessels as a luxury item (Mountjoy Reference Mountjoy1995, 31); this viewpoint makes the discovery of tinned ceramics in well-furnished tombs unsurprising.

Tinned Vessels outside the Mortuary Sphere

Almost all tinned vessels have been found in mortuary contexts. One exception is the tinned kylix stem found at Ambelofyto LagouFootnote 68 in Messenia (Davis, Bennet, and Shelmerdine Reference Davis, Bennet, Shelmerdine, Betancourt, Karageorghis, Laffineur and Niemeier1999, 447). This small habitation site, suggested to be the remains of an unfortified agricultural centre (McDonald and Hope Simpson Reference McDonald and Hope Simpson1961, 237 no. 40), has been badly eroded by intensive cultivation (Hope Simpson Reference Hope Simpson1965, 65; McDonald and Rapp Reference McDonald and Rapp1972, 267). It seems an unlikely find location, given that many tinned vessels are associated with well-furnished tombs. This find could indicate that tinned ceramics had a role outside the mortuary sphere, although it may equally have been a stray from a workshop, perhaps indicating their production in the locality. Unfortunately, the damage wrought upon this site during recent decades has severely lessened the likelihood that further investigation will take place in the foreseeable future.

The other exception was a kylix from the LM II destruction levels at the Unexplored Mansion at Knossos (Popham and Catling Reference Popham and Catling1974, 208 n. 9). Unfortunately any traces were destroyed by acid and it is impossible to verify whether the coating was tin or another substance.Footnote 69 In situ remains from these levels suggested that it or a neighbouring area had been used for metallurgical activities (Popham et al. Reference Popham, Betts, Cameron, Catling, Evely, Higgins and Smyth1984, 262). The tinned vessel does not provide evidence of domestic usage, but may indicate that tinning was carried out by metallurgists, not potters.Footnote 70 However, the extent of the involvement of metalworkers in tinned ceramic manufacture cannot be resolved by one untested sherd. Further evidence is needed before such issues can be addressed.

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TINNED CERAMIC AND METAL VESSELS

Many scholars have suggested that tinned ceramics were intended to imitate metal vessels, especially those in silver, and were used as less expensive substitutes for the funerary sphere.Footnote 71 Skeuomorphing of silver vessels in ceramic has been proposed for a number of East Mediterranean cultures, particularly for glossy black-grey wares (Reeves Reference Reeves2003, 234; Philip and Rehren Reference Philip and Rehren1996, 144; Vickers Reference Vickers1985, 108). Tinning could therefore be understood as a more luxurious method of imitation (Mountjoy Reference Mountjoy1995, 31; Immerwahr Reference Immerwahr1966, 386).

Scholars have also connected tinned vessels to three specific silver vessel assemblages, from the South House at Knossos, Dendra chamber tomb 10 and Kokla tholos tomb, and used this link to discuss their significance and social role. Mountjoy (Reference Mountjoy2003, 166) used tinned vessels to help support her argument that the Kokla and South House silver vessel assemblages could be interpreted as ceremonial groups. Wright (Reference Wright, Halstead and Barrett2004, 99) used tinned ceramics to suggest increased standardisation in silver vessel sets, such as the Dendra group, during LH IIIA1. It is important to note that there are two other silver vessel assemblages contemporary with the usage of tinned ceramics, from the Dendra and Vapheio tholoi (Persson Reference Persson1931, 33–4, 38; Tsountas Reference Tsountas1889), which have not been linked in the literature to the practice of tinning.Footnote 72 The characteristics of these assemblages with reference to tinned vessels are also discussed below.

Imitation is complex, as are the motivations that lie behind imitative actions. Recent work on the nature of imitation and skeuomorphs has emphasised their diversity (McCullough Reference McCullough2014). Describing tinned ceramics as imitations of silver vessels is therefore not sufficient; it is necessary to ask in what ways this imitation was manifested before their relationship can be fully examined. To achieve this, it is necessary to compare and contrast the silver assemblages that tinned vessels are assumed to imitate. First, however, the background to this claimed imitation must be examined.

If imitation was their primary purpose, it is perhaps surprising that no tinned ceramics discovered thus far have any additional features referencing metal vessels. This practice is reasonably common in Aegean pottery and includes fake rivets, base and neck rings to imitate seams, and central grooves on handles to mimic wired edges (Mountjoy Reference Mountjoy1993, 38). To individuals familiar with the appearance of metal vessels, the lack of such features would have been immediately obvious. Furthermore, no tinned vessels found thus far have exhibited any attempts to imitate the decoration often found on metal vessels by, for example, manipulating the topography of their surface prior to tinning.

Tinning does not reproduce a perfect imitation of the appearance or colour of silver (Gillis Reference Gillis1991–2, 32). The manufacture of gold-coloured tinned ceramics also weakens their connection to silver specifically. It is worth remembering that gold-coloured tinned ceramics would also have resembled high-tin bronze (Fang and McDonnell Reference Fang and McDonnell2011, 54–6).

Of the three core shapes discussed above, only the stemmed cup and handleless bowl are found in the metal vessel corpus; there are no known examples of shallow angular bowls.Footnote 73 Gillis also highlighted that the range of tinned forms included closed shapes, such as stirrup jars, not known and unlikely to have ever been produced in metal (Gillis Reference Gillis, Gillis, Risberg and Sjöberg1997, 133; Reference Gillis, Young, Pollard, Budd and Ixer1999a, 142).Footnote 74 Furthermore, the numbers of known tinned versions of the most common silver shapes, the shallow and Vapheio cups (Aulsebrook Reference Aulsebrook2012, 162), are three and zero respectively. Admittedly, the number of metal Vapheio cups falls significantly after LH I and the ceramic version does not seem to last beyond LH IIB, but the same cannot be said of the shallow cup. Moreover, the distinctive features of the most common form of metal shallow cup, with a wide decorated rim and co-ordinated ring handle, were not imitated by tinned versions (Fig. 6).

Fig. 6. Comparison of the ceramic shallow cup (left) and the most frequently found version of the silver shallow cup (right). Drawing by author.

The decay caused by ‘tin pest’ occurs so rapidly that it was already in train while the tomb was in use, leaving visitors in no doubt as to the true nature of these objects (Gillis, Holmberg and Widelöv Reference Gillis, Holmberg, Widelöv and Vincenzini1995, 259; Gillis Reference Gillis, Gillis, Risberg and Sjöberg1997, 135; Reference Gillis, Bassiakos, Aloupi and Facorellis2001, 453–4). This underlines the short-term importance of their visual appearance, which is emphasised by their inability to withstand prolonged handling (Holmberg, E.J. Reference Holmberg1983, 384; Gillis Reference Gillis1991–2, 28; Gillis and Bohm Reference Gillis, Bohm, Burragato, Grubessi and Lazzarini1994, 226). This delicacy could explain why settlements have yielded only two tinned sherds, as post-depositional conditions may have been too harsh for identifiable traces to remain.

The points raised above imply that the term ‘imitation’ needs to be applied in a more considered way. It is time now to consider evidence from the silver vessel assemblages themselves.

The Silver Vessels from the South House at Knossos

The South House, constructed in MM III/LM IA, stood at the south-west corner of the palace at Knossos (Mountjoy Reference Mountjoy2003, 1). It was not perhaps an elite residence per se, as it lacked substantial storage facilities, but may have been used for special purposes, such as receiving or accommodating important visitors (Lloyd Reference Lloyd, Glowacki and Vogeikoff-Brogan2011, 175). This building was destroyed in LM IA, possibly by an earthquake (Mountjoy Reference Mountjoy2003, 25). Three silver bowls and a silver jug were discovered in the tough clayey debris from this destruction event, in the north-west corner of the Pillar Crypt 0.75 m above its floor; it is presumed that they fell from an upper storey (Evans Reference Evans1928, 387; Mountjoy Reference Mountjoy2003, 10). As they were discovered nested together Evans (Reference Evans1928, 387) suggested they were originally stored in a wooden box, which kept them together as they fell.

All four vessels were raised from silver plate and, except for one bowl, were without ornamentation (Davis Reference Davis1977, 105–7). The decorated bowl had a row of six large repoussé running spirals with two parallel grooves under the rim; it had an offset foot and no handle (Davis Reference Davis1977, 106 no. 15 figs 79, 80; Evans Reference Evans1928, 387 fig. 221a [HM 403]). The largest bowl was also handleless with a simple rim, although its lower section was not preserved (Davis Reference Davis1977, 107 no. 16 fig. 82; Evans Reference Evans1928, 387 fig. 221d [HM 401]). The third bowl could also be described as a cup. It had a single loop handle above an everted rim with a flat bottom and offset foot (Davis Reference Davis1977, 107 no. 17 fig. 83; Evans Reference Evans1928, 387 fig. 221c [HM 402]). The accompanying jug had a flat base, continuously curving walls and everted rim, with a handle formed from a silver-plated copper rod, fastened by three rivets (Davis Reference Davis1977, 105–6 no. 14 fig. 78; Evans Reference Evans1928, 387 fig. 221b [HM 404]). Evans (Reference Evans1928, 387) noted that all four had exceedingly thin walls.

Mountjoy (Reference Mountjoy2003, 166) suggested that these silver vessels may have constituted a ceremonial group on the basis of similar but later tinned sets. None of the South House silver vessel shapes have appeared in tinned ceramic. As discussed above, tinned jugs are infrequent finds, and therefore tinned sets containing drinking and pouring vessels are rare. Furthermore, such sets are also common in ordinary pottery; there seems to be no strong reason to link the South House group to a specific practice that was also conducted using tinned ceramics. Rather, the association of drinking and pouring vessels appears to be a standard convention. It therefore seems somewhat counterintuitive to use tinned ceramic vessels to support the interpretation of the South House group as a ceremonial vessel set, when the joint deposition of drinking and pouring vessels that were not tinned was far more frequent.

The Silver Vessels from Chamber Tomb 10 at Dendra

Five tinned kylikes were recovered from Dendra chamber tomb 10, in Shaft II (Persson Reference Persson1942, 92–3 nos 41–5). Deposited within the same pit were four other ceramic vessels, a gilded ivory bowl, a silver spoon and five silver vessels (Persson Reference Persson1942, 87–94). It had not been sealed with slabs or the like, although four pots were placed directly above it (Persson Reference Persson1942, 87). The tomb's only skeletal remains were located in Shaft I, alongside pieces of gold, glass, faience and amber jewellery, gold rosettes, a sealstone and a gold cup (Persson Reference Persson1942, 74–87). The chamber contained two scale pans, gold and glass beads and 11 ceramic jars, jugs and alabastra (Persson Reference Persson1942, 63, 65–70, 73). This tomb was apparently used only once for a single interment in LH IIIA1 (Persson Reference Persson1942, 95). It contained an unusually high number of metal vessels, even within this relatively wealthy cemetery.Footnote 75

The appearance of silver and tinned ceramic vessels side-by-side in Shaft II is very intriguing and has been used to argue for a special relationship between the tinned and silver vessels; the former carefully chosen to reflect the latter. The similarities between the assemblages are clear, but their differences have been overlooked.

The silver vessel set contained a common standard form of shallow cup, with a gilded rim (Persson Reference Persson1942, 90–1 no. 39). The contents of Shaft II do include a ceramic version; however, it was not tinned. As mentioned above, only three examples of tinned shallow cups are known, none of which attempt to emulate the wide decorated rim found on so many silver versions including the Dendra chamber tomb example (Fig. 6). Therefore, as discussed above, although they shared similar profiles and handles, such tinned shallow cups lacked an important feature that was often deliberately emphasised on their metal counterparts through elaborate decoration and gilding. This highlights yet again the separation in visual appearance between tinned ceramic and metal vessels.

The assemblage includes no silver analogue for the tinned FS 272 kylix (Persson Reference Persson1942, 93 no. 45). There is also no more than a passing resemblance between the one-handled gilded silver goblet decorated with birds (Persson Reference Persson1942, 89–90 no. 37) and the tinned FS 271 kylix (Persson Reference Persson1942, 93 no. 44).

In fact, only three vessels from each group can be said to share a strong resemblance. The most striking of these concerns the silver stemmed krater (Persson Reference Persson1942, 87–8 no. 34) and the large tinned FS 263 kylix (Persson Reference Persson1942, 92 no. 41). Despite a minor discrepancy in size, it is very likely that their deposition sprang from a conscious decision to link the two groups. The silver stemmed krater is the only known example of its type in metal and is the largest silver vessel from a securely dated post-LH I context on the Greek mainland (Aulsebrook Reference Aulsebrook2012). The FS 263 kylix is the only certain tinned example of this variant. The presence of these two similar, yet unusual, vessels in the same context is unlikely to be a coincidence.

The other four vessels are two tinned FS 267 kylikes (Persson Reference Persson1942, 92 no. 42 and 93 no. 43) and two almost identical silver versions (Persson Reference Persson1942, 88 no. 35 and 89 no. 36). There are only minor discrepancies between them in terms of size and exact profile.

Analysis of the three silver vessels suggests a shared production source. All three have a plate riveted inside the bowl to seal off the stem, the same rim formation and the same handle type, and share the same details of their handle attachment (although the stemmed krater has an additional rivet, probably to counteract the greater weight of the vessel) (Davis Reference Davis1977, 273–5).

The correspondence between the sets has therefore been exaggerated.Footnote 76 Three tinned and three silver vessels appear to have been chosen for deposition due to their close similarity. However, the other tinned and silver vessels in the same shaft are much more akin to other vessels in the same material than to each other.

The Silver Vessels from the Tholos Tomb at Kokla

The tholos tomb at Kokla contained a set of seven silver vessels, four kylikes and three handleless bowls, as well as a gold shallow cup and ivory plaque. There was little pottery in the tomb, but the finds seem to indicate a date of LH IIB–IIIA1 (Demakopoulou Reference Demakopoulou, Driessen and Farnoux1997, 104). The tomb itself is architecturally unusual, combining the characteristics of a tholos and chamber tomb; the dromos and part of the entrance were cut into bedrock, whereas the chamber walls and stomion jambs were of dressed stone (Demakopoulou Reference Demakopoulou, Driessen and Farnoux1997, 104).

The silver vessels were all associated with the bench; four upon it and three on the floor beneath, the latter neatly stacked within each other (Demakopoulou Reference Demakopoulou, Hägg and Nordquist1990, 117–19 figs 6–12). There is good reason to believe that the four kylikes were made in the same workshop and possibly even by the same artisan.Footnote 77 The handleless bowl shape is too simple for any similar interpretations to be drawn. It is a relatively rare shape in the Aegean metal vessel repertoire.Footnote 78

One notable difference between tinned kylikes and the Kokla kylikes is the latter's decoration.Footnote 79 However, it was relatively simple, unobtrusive and not particularly apparent from even a short distance away. Both the kylix and handleless bowl were frequently tinned. The redundancy of forms in this group is also reminiscent of tinned vessel assemblages, and very unusual in post-LH I precious metal assemblages. The probable common workshop for the four kylikes suggests they were made for use together as a set. The placement of the silver vessels around the focal point of the bench also indicates a possible role for them within the mortuary ritual (Demakopoulou Reference Demakopoulou, Hägg and Nordquist1990, 121–2).

The Silver Vessels from the Dendra and Vapheio Tholoi

Scholars have not drawn either of these two silver vessel assemblages into the debate concerning the relationship between silver and tinned vessels. A brief glance at their shapes suggests why this may have been the case. In the Dendra tholos four silver vessels were uncovered in the undisturbed LH IIIA1 Pit I. A stemmed goblet (Persson Reference Persson1931, 33 no. 5), a shallow cup (Persson Reference Persson1931, 33 no. 6) and a Vapheio cup (Persson Reference Persson1931, 33–4 no. 7) were found together at the north end, while at the southern end lay a wishbone-handled hemispherical cup (Persson Reference Persson1931, 38 no. 1). This pit also contained a gold shallow cup, bronze objects, jewellery, sealstones and the skeletons of a man and woman; other finds within the tholos, also contained within pits, include a further burial, other human and animal skeletal material and a significant quantity of ash and charcoal mixed with the burnt remains of ivory, metal and stone objects (Persson Reference Persson1931). The form of the silver stemmed goblet bears little relation to those found in the contemporary ceramic corpus and the other three shapes are apparently either rarely or never tinned.

The untouched LH IIA cist grave in the otherwise looted Vapheio tholos contained two silver Vapheio cups (Davis Reference Davis1977, 258–60 nos. 105 and 106), an incomplete silver jug (Davis Reference Davis1977, 261–3 no. 108) and two further silver cup fragments: a segment from a rim and part of a handle (Davis Reference Davis1977, 261–2). Other finds include the two famous gold Vapheio cups decorated with scenes of bull-catching, a collection of bronze weapons and vessels, pottery and a significant number of seals (Tsountas Reference Tsountas1889). The two Vapheio cups and jug share the same decoration, a simple motif of parallel grooves grouped in triplets; this may indicate that they were intended to be used together as a vessel set. Also to be considered alongside these silver vessels is a complete shallow cup manufactured from silvered copper,Footnote 80 which would have had the appearance of solid silver (Davis Reference Davis1977, 260–1 no. 107) and a fragment from another silvered copper shallow cup (Davis Reference Davis1977, 262). Therefore, this tomb contained at least six silver or silvered copper vessels. Their forms, where discernible, are apparently either rarely or never found in the tinned ceramic corpus, just like those in the Dendra tholos.

Discussion

To understand whether tinned ceramics were imitating a specific practice linked to silver vessels, or were imitative of metal vessels in a more general sense, it is necessary to compare the features of the five silver vessel assemblages discussed above. It is important to bear in mind that these assemblages may not be complete. Nevertheless, the recovered contents of each show important similarities and distinctions.

There are few similarities between the assemblages from the South House, Dendra chamber tomb, Dendra tholos, Vapheio and Kokla. The different forms of the South House assemblage can be ascribed to its earlier date and Cretan find location; the Vapheio group is also earlier than the other mainland silver vessel assemblages. Only these two groups included a pouring vessel; it is possible, but perhaps unlikely, that any originally included in the other assemblages were later removed. There are stronger associations between the Dendra chamber tomb and Kokla assemblages, such as the inclusion of kylikes, certain manufacturing similarities in the kylikes and the accompanying gold shallow cup. These associations are stronger than the similarities between the two Dendra silver vessel groups, both of which contained shallow cups and stemmed goblets. This is despite the fact that the two Dendra groups come from the same site and were both deposited in LH IIIA1. However, each assemblage differs significantly in the number and form of the vessels deposited. It is difficult to argue that they were specially linked or formed a distinct phenomenon. This undermines any notion of a standardised silver vessel mortuary set that could have provided the inspiration for the composition of tinned ceramic assemblages. It also calls into question the use of the much more standardised tinned sets as a basis for interpreting silver vessel groups.

Except for their material, there is nothing to distinguish the silver vessel assemblages from other metal vessel sets, such as the four gold goblets from the Acropolis Treasure (Thomas Reference Thomas1938–9). Their links to tinned ceramics are also variable. There is little reason to posit a connection between tinned vessels and the South House group, Dendra tholos group or Vapheio group. Part of the Dendra chamber tomb silver vessel assemblage does show general similarities with tinned vessels, and specific tinned shapes that emphasised this link were selected for deposition alongside them. However, the rest show closer ties to the general silver vessel corpus. The strongest links are visible in the Kokla group, in terms of shapes, redundancy of forms and minimal decoration. These characteristics also distinguished it from the contemporary precious metal repertoire.

Kokla: Chicken or Egg?

Although the above discussion has demonstrated that the link between tinned and metal vessels is less strong than previously believed, it is still necessary to account for the very close ties between the Kokla group (and, to a lesser extent, the Dendra chamber tomb group) and the tinned ceramic phenomenon. The first known Aegean tinned vessels are earlier than the use of either the Kokla tholos or Dendra tomb 10, yet it took time to establish a standard repertoire of tinned shapes. The use of these tombs and the increased standardisation of tinned assemblages were apparently roughly contemporaneous. Given their similarities, and putting the more complex Dendra chamber tomb group to one side for a moment, it is worthwhile considering two different scenarios:

  1. 1. Standardisation in tinned vessel assemblages was inspired by the use of silver vessel groups with a similar composition to that found at Kokla.

  2. 2. Standardised tinned vessel assemblages inspired the manufacture of specialised silver vessel groups with a similar composition to that found at Kokla.

Scenario One

The first scenario is predicated on the assumption that silver vessel assemblages with the same composition as that found at Kokla appeared before the introduction of the standard triad of tinned shapes; the use and deposition of tinned vessels was therefore intended to imitate these supposed precious metal vessel groups. In this case, tinned vessels were already in existence but the creation and use of the Kokla group instigated a change in meaning, which led to the establishment of the three core tinned types and general stabilisation in the composition of tinned assemblages.

The standard triad of core tinned forms eventually spread quite widely across the Aegean. It seems unlikely that this could have been sparked by the single group at Kokla; nothing indicates that Kokla was particularly important during this period or that it held some form of ritual significance within Mycenaean culture. Similar groups may have been melted down (Aulsebrook Reference Aulsebrook2017), but the surviving evidence suggests there was little or no standardisation between silver vessel assemblages. This hypothesis also fails to account for the inclusion of the shallow angular bowl in the core triad of tinned shapes.

Scenario Two

The alternative scenario is that the Kokla group was a specific local response to the ritual significance of tinned ceramics. This possibility has not been discussed before. Scholars tend to regard emulation as a phenomenon that moves only in one direction: from the elite sphere to the non-elite sphere. However, there is no a priori reason to exclude the possibility that high-status individuals chose to imitate a widespread practice, while imposing their own special conditions upon it to create a new restricted version.

Although tinned vessels have not been reported from Kokla itself, they were deposited in nearby cemeteries, including Argos, Dendra, Mycenae and Nauplion. Thus it is probable that people using Kokla cemetery were aware of their existence. Tinned ceramics were costly and the majority were associated with well-furnished tombs. However, it is likely that silver versions were even more restricted in circulation and ownership.Footnote 81 Solid silver vessels would have required more metal and access to specialists able to skilfully work the material. The ability to deposit such objects within a funerary assemblage is therefore a strong statement of economic and social status. Such a message would be strengthened if any special meanings attached to tinned ceramics were incorporated. In this scenario, it is not necessary to assume the existence of similar silver vessel assemblages, or that Kokla played an important role in the trajectory of tinned ceramics. Rather, the Kokla group would represent a specific local innovation: the manufacture of a special and distinct group of silver vessels that deliberately resembled a tinned ceramic assemblage. This does not mean that these silver vessels were produced especially as a funerary service. A silver version of a tinned ceramic set may have been intended to bring the rituals associated with the latter into the sphere of the living. The later deposition of these special vessels in the Kokla tholos as a group could have been an acknowledgement of their original inspiration.

The Evidence from Dendra Chamber Tomb 10

The link between the Dendra chamber tomb group and tinned ceramics also makes it significant to this discussion. Again, given the choice of shapes deposited, it is difficult to argue that the Dendra tomb 10 silver group played an important role in establishing the three core tinned forms. However, the two silver kylikes and stemmed krater share many characteristics with the Kokla group and were apparently manufactured as a set. It is possible that they too were meant to convey a particular meaning or used in a particular way during the funeral process, which was enhanced by the inclusion of identical tinned versions in the same assemblage.

CONCLUSIONS

This thorough review of the phenomenon of tinned ceramics has reaffirmed many of the objections raised by Gillis against their interpretation as imitations of metal vessels. Ceramics can reference metal vessels in two different ways: by imitating appearance or shape. Tinned ceramics reproduced the surface appearance of metal vessels but went no further. In most other respects they exhibited closer ties with the ceramic corpus. Indeed, with the exception of their coating, no attempt was made to visually differentiate tinned ceramics from ordinary pottery. There was therefore no intention to create a wholly separate class of material culture.

If we then interpret tinned vessels as enhanced ceramics, rather than emulators of silver, their characteristics become more understandable. This idea was already present during Immerwahr's seminal treatment of the phenomenon; she described tinning as the dressing-up of simple clay containers for funeral display (Immerwahr Reference Immerwahr1966, 387), and queried whether it really owed much to the original metallic derivation of their shapes (Immerwahr Reference Immerwahr1966, 386). Yet she also drew a simplistic link between silver and tinned vessels which came to dominate their interpretation. This has led to scholars using tinned ceramics to make judgements about the silver vessel corpus, an interpretative framework which, given our better knowledge of the tinned vessel phenomenon, can no longer be justified.

Granting tinned vessels this autonomy from metal prototypes and concentrating on their links to the ceramic corpus helps to confirm that they had their own trajectory of distribution and change, and may have had a special role within Late Bronze Age Aegean culture that linked the two. The loss of shapes directly imitating metal forms in LH IIIA, such as the ring-handled and Vapheio cups, may have been compensated for by the expansion in tinning, because it represented an alternative way to link the ceramic and metal assemblages (Shelton Reference Shelton, Hitchcock, Laffineur and Crowley2008, 222). Looking at the Kokla and Dendra chamber tomb groups from this perspective also allows us to reassess their significance. Rather than trying to force the meagre evidence from silver vessel groups to demonstrate a level of standardisation that could have acted as the inspiration for the manufacture of tinned ceramics, it is possible to view the Dendra chamber tomb and Kokla groups specifically as an innovative strategy to co-opt the meanings behind tinning while simultaneously employing exclusionary tactics.

Some may regard tinned ceramics as yet another way to express affluence in the competitive mortuary sphere (Reeves Reference Reeves2003, 234). Such an interpretation may be applicable to the use of tinned ceramics in certain other cultures; in Macedonia tinned and even gilded examples of almost all the common shapes encountered in fourth-century bc mortuary contexts have been found (Kotitsa Reference Kotitsa, Drougou and Touratsoglou2012, 113). However, in the Middle and Late Bronze Age Aegean there was a clear process of selection for tinning, particularly with the establishment of the core triad of shapes, that implies the existence of other factors apart from status display. Moving beyond the paradigm of imitation can help to open up other possibilities. Gillis (Reference Gillis, Betancourt, Karageorghis, Laffineur and Niemeier1999b, 293) argued that the inclusion of both golden and silvery versions demonstrated that their presence was driven by symbolism, not socio-economic reasons. She suggested that the desire was to incorporate yellow and white shiny objects, due to colour symbolism, not imitate metal vessels (Gillis Reference Gillis, Nosch and Laffineur2012, 584). Tinning would therefore enable a vessel to be coloured gold or silver while using a less valuable resource (French and Tomlinson Reference French, Tomlinson, Betancourt, Karageorghis, Laffineur and Niemeier1999, 260). In addition, the decay of the tin, leaving bare ceramic, could have been associated with the decay of the flesh of the dead, which leaves bare bones (Dimaki and Papageorgiou Reference Dimaki, Papageorgiou and Mazarakis Ainian2015, 851). The focusing of tinning upon kylikes in particular would suggest that the tinned sets either were used by a perhaps select group of mourners during the funeral for drinking and/or eating rituals, or were intended to symbolise the partaking of the deceased in feasting activities. The emergence of the core triad of tinned shapes may demonstrate that the use of tinned vessels within mortuary contexts became more formalised over time. However, it is also important to consider that, although there are many similarities between tinned assemblages across all three regions of their use, their meaning was not necessarily uniform. Unusual assemblages, like that at Varkiza-Vari, caution against such an assumption.

The production of single-use objects for mortuary rituals may have been intentional. Assemblages such as that in Chamber Tomb I:1 at Asine prove that new tinned vessels were brought into the tomb on multiple occasions and those deposited previously, the shiny surface of which was already beginning to decay, were swept aside. The degeneration of the tin made the retrieval of tinned vessels pointless, unlike other precious items that were sometimes removed from tombs. The use of tinned vessels was therefore an obvious and potent act of conspicuous and irreversible consumption; it was a permanent offering by the living to the realm of the dead.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to thank Dr Katie Demakopoulou and the staff at the Athens National Museum for allowing me to examine the metal vessels from Kokla and for their help during my visit. Thanks are also due to Dr Anja Ulbrich and Ilaria Perzia of the Ashmolean Museum for allowing me to view a tinned vessel from Isopata and for arranging my visit. I would like to thank Dr Elizabeth French and Dr Kim Shelton for helping me track down the gold-covered tinned jug from Kalapodi, and Maria Papageorgiou for sending me a link to her joint paper on tinned vessels from that site. I would also like to thank Dr Yannis Galanakis for allowing me to add the newly discovered tinned vessels from Prosilio to my catalogue. Both Dr Demakopoulou and Dr French provided useful comments and corrections to earlier drafts of this paper, for which I am very grateful. Two anonymous reviewers also provided many helpful suggestions as well as drawing my attention to the tinned vessel at Nichoria and the gilding and tinning of ceramics during the Late Classical and Hellenistic Period in Macedonia. All mistakes and omissions should be solely attributed to the author. This paper was partly based upon work completed for my doctoral thesis, funded by the AHRC and a Leslie Wilson Scholarship from Magdalene College (Cambridge), and partly on the findings from a series of postdoctoral research visits to Greek museums, funded by the Michael Ventris Memorial Award for 2014.

APPENDIX

Part One – Site Catalogue (Table A1)

A catalogue of all the Late Bronze Age Aegean sites from which tinned ceramics have been published or reported.

Part Two – Tinned Vessel Catalogue (Table A2)

A catalogue of individually published tinned ceramics. The following conventions are used:

  • Vessels marked in bold have had their tin coating scientifically confirmed.

  • Vessels marked in italics are only suspected to be tinned.

  • Dates marked in italics refer to the vessel only, not its context.

  • Vessels marked with an * were probably heat treated to turn them into a golden colour, according to analysis carried out by Gillis (Reference Gillis, Betancourt, Karageorghis, Laffineur and Niemeier1999b, 292).

  • Vessels marked with a ‘P’ before their description were previously painted.

  • ‘SAB’ stands for ‘shallow angular bowl’.

Table A1. Site catalogue.

Table A2. Tinned vessel catalogue.

Footnotes

1 Also called ‘Tin-coated Ware’ (Hatzaki Reference Hatzaki and Momigliano2007).

2 I would like to thank Dr K. Demakopoulou, who very kindly granted permission for me to study the Kokla metal vessels, and the staff of the Athens National Museum for their help during my visit.

3 The others are from Dendra Chamber Tomb 10 (Persson Reference Persson1942) and the South House at Knossos (Mountjoy Reference Mountjoy2003).

4 Emphasis originally in the text. For a detailed history of the reaction of earlier excavators to tinning see Immerwahr Reference Immerwahr1966, 382–3.

5 The analysis of two sherds from the Athenian Agora tombs suggested the supplementary usage of tin-lead foils (Noll, Holm and Born Reference Noll, Holm and Born1980, 35–7; Noll and Heimann Reference Noll and Heimann2016, 194–5), although they have not been identified in any subsequent analyses.

6 This can happen even when the ceramics were otherwise well published. For example, Carl Blegen did not mention the clearly visible traces of tinning on vessels found at Prosymna or Pylos, despite the fact that his close collaborator, Alan Wace, had published similar vessels from Mycenae and had also discussed them at some length (Wace Reference Wace1932).

7 See Popham and Catling Reference Popham and Catling1974, 208 n. 9, where reference is made to a tinned kylix found in the Unexplored Mansion at Knossos that was mistakenly placed in an acid bath. A diluted preparation may cause the tin to hydrolyse and later dry to become tin oxide, but this process would remove other impurities originally present in the foil (Farnsworth Reference Farnsworth1966, 396); this hypothesis has been disputed by another research group (Noll and Heimann Reference Noll and Heimann2016, 193).

8 In this case the dark layer is SnO and the white layer SnO2 (Noll and Heimann Reference Noll and Heimann2016, 193).

9 Conversely, not all dark-coloured encrustations can be attributed to tinning. For example, an XRS examination of sherds found that the encrustation on some did not contain tin but was rich in iron (Kanta Reference Kanta1980, 327). Similar marks can also result from sediment, burning or paint (Gillis Reference Gillis, Olausson and Vandkilde2000, 452). Needless to say, verifying the presence of tin through scientific analysis should be considered best practice but this is not always feasible.

10 Although there are also many examples of vessels where the coating did not extend onto the base (Immerwahr Reference Immerwahr1966, 382), including on vessels from Sellopoulo (Popham and Catling Reference Popham and Catling1974, 206) and Varkiza-Vari (Polychronakou-Sgouritsa Reference Polychronakou-Sgouritsa1988, 100). On the alabastron from Isopata Tomb 5 held at the Ashmolean Museum, which I have personally examined, the tin residue extended only 1.5 cm onto the surface of the base. I would like to thank Dr Anja Ulbrich and Ilaria Perzia of the Ashmolean Museum for allowing me to view this vessel and arranging my visit. Unfortunately, in many cases a detailed description of the position of the remaining tin spots is not always supplied.

11 Contra Holmberg, K. Reference Holmberg1983. Gillis found that dipping sherds into molten tin did create a shiny surface, but it was generally uneven in thickness and consistency, as was the coating on the Holmberg replicas; this method also required precise temperature control (Gillis Reference Gillis1994, 57; Gillis and Bohm Reference Gillis, Bohm, Burragato, Grubessi and Lazzarini1994, 223), which would have been difficult to achieve in the Late Bronze Age.

12 A colour illustration of replica vessels produced during these experiments can be found in Gillis and Bohm Reference Gillis, Bohm, Burragato, Grubessi and Lazzarini1994, fig. 4. Noll, Holm and Born (Reference Orlandos1980, 32) had already concluded that a binder must have been used but were only able to carry out limited analysis.

13 Gillis and Bohm (Reference Gillis1994, 224) reported that, after some initial awkwardness, the process of using the foil was relatively easy. However, the forms they were covering were quite simple and did not include features such as handles or false necks.

14 Other suggested methods, such as the tin oxide slip proposed by Marinatos (Reference Marinatos1972, 296) can now be safely discounted (Noll and Heimann Reference Noll and Heimann2016, 198).

15 This ability to produce golden-hued tin foil has been disputed by Kotitsa and Schüssler (Reference Kotitsa and Schüssler2002, 75), who were unable to completely replicate the same effect at a similar temperature; this failure does not justify the outright rejection of Gillis's evidence, as suggested by Kotitsa (Reference Kotitsa, Drougou and Touratsoglou2012, 119–21), given the plethora of factors that influence oxidation processes in metals. Further experimentation is required to find the exact conditions under which golden-hued tin foil can be produced.

16 A direct connection to Late Bronze Age Aegean practice has been suggested, despite the gap of several centuries (Noll and Heimann Reference Noll and Heimann2016, 196).

17 One suggestion put forward is ka-to-ro (Michailidou Reference Michailidou and Michailidou2001, 87). The term for tin should be similar to ka-si-te-ro, but this word or any associated derivations have not been found in the Linear B archives (Freeman Reference Freeman1999, 223). The term ka-si-ko-no has been identified as a possible candidate (Stella Reference Stella1965, 196), but this is not widely accepted.

18 The probable intended fate for the tin ingot found at Mochlos (Soles Reference Soles and Tzachili2008, 153).

19 There is no space here to adequately discuss the merits of the many suggested sources for tin. Although tin isotopy can differentiate between some tin ore sources (Haustein, Gillis and Pernicka Reference Haustein, Gillis and Pernicka2010, 829), this field is still in its infancy. One particular difficulty is isotopic variability within ore sources (Gillis and Clayton Reference Gillis, Clayton and Tzachili2008, 138, 140). For an overview of suggested Aegean tin sources see Gillis Reference Gillis1991, 3–8 and Gillis and Clayton Reference Gillis, Clayton and Tzachili2008 fig. 2.

20 In her wide-ranging study of the material culture of the Cyclades, Schallin (Reference Schallin1993, 95) lists fewer than 20 confirmed or suspected LBA tomb sites.

21 Contra Hallager (Reference Hallager, Hallager and Hallager1997, 42), Kanta (Reference Kanta1980, 315) does not list any tinned kylikes from LM IIIC contexts.

22 Gillis (Reference Gillis1991, 28) also reported tinned ceramics from Kato Zakros; however, examination of her source (Platon Reference Platon1975, 345) suggests this was based upon a mistranslation.

23 The publication of Mavro Spelio (Forsdyke Reference Forsdyke1926–7) did not report any unusual encrustation on the ceramics.

24 Polychrome pottery is decorated with bright powdery unfixed colours, such as crimson, red and blue. Examples have been found at several sites including tomb 5 at Isopata (Evans Reference Evans1914, 25–6), Zapher Papoura (Evans Reference Evans1905) and tombs III and V at Mavro Spelio (Forsdyke Reference Forsdyke1926–7, 254, 257). Similarly to tinning, polychromy would not have withstood repeated handling and was only intended for funereal show (Evans Reference Evans1914, 26; Popham and Catling Reference Popham and Catling1974, 209). Evans (Reference Evans1905, 515) suggested its usage was to evoke non-ceramic materials and later drew parallels between it and fresco painting (Evans Reference Evans1930, 309).

25 Gillis (Reference Gillis1991, 28) suggested a date of LM II for this vessel, but the only conical cup illustrated by Evans formed part of the LM IIIA1 assemblage (Evans Reference Evans1935, 1017 fig. 965j).

26 The dates for these Zapher Papoura tombs were passed to Preston by Dr E. Hatzaki, who re-examined the material from this cemetery (Preston Reference Preston2004, 332, 533–4). An overview of the cemetery is given in Hatzaki Reference Hatzaki, D'Agata and Moody2005. Immerwahr (Reference Immerwahr1966, 388 especially n. 32) was highly sceptical of the tinned vessels found in Tomb 99, as they did not match the range of forms nor dates of deposition for the majority of examples known at that time. Continued research has widened the range of tinned shapes and their chronology. My examination of the tinned Isopata alabastron confirms that Evans was familiar with their appearance and was unlikely to have confused tinning with another surface treatment.

27 Certainly in Tholos 2 at least (Korres Reference Korres, Frolikova, Frolikova and Frolikova1982, 95).

28 Athens NM nos. 9526, 9527, 9528, 9533, 9667, 9679, 9680 and 9681 (Pantelidou Reference Pantelidou1975, 173 n. 6).

29 The figures given in Gillis Reference Gillis, Hägg, Nordquist and Wells1996a do not accord with those in Gillis Reference Gillis, De Miro, Godart and Sacconi1996b and earlier publications, which Gillis explained were based upon incomplete analysis (Gillis Reference Gillis, Hägg, Nordquist and Wells1996a, 95 n. 10). In the catalogue Mountjoy omits the traces of tinning on two stirrup-handled jugs (Mountjoy Reference Mountjoy, Hägg, Nordquist and Wells1996, 65 nos. 23 and 24); no. 23 was analysed positively for tin (Gillis Reference Gillis, Hägg, Nordquist and Wells1996a, 100) and an image of no. 24 shows it too was originally tinned (Gillis Reference Gillis, Hägg, Nordquist and Wells1996a fig. 2, right).

30 Tinned vessels were not mentioned in the preliminary report (Vavritsas Reference Vavritsas1968). Their existence was first reported by Pantelidou (Reference Pantelidou1975, 173–4) under the site name Kamini Varkiza. Only one can be attributed to a specific tomb.

31 This was the only example I could find of another metal aside from tin being used to cover ceramic pots in the study area during the Late Bronze Age. Noll and Heimann (Reference Noll and Heimann2016, 199) maintain that the gilding and silvering of pottery did take place, citing Neuberger. Neuberger claimed Harriet Boyd Hawes unearthed examples of such vessels (Neuberger Reference Neuberger1919, 145) but I could find no evidence to substantiate this. A bull head rhyton from Gournia had been covered with a shiny white slip in imitation of silver, but this vessel was not tinned, silvered or gilded (Boyd Hawes et al. Reference Boyd Hawes, Williams, Seager and Hall1908, 52, 60 pl. I:1). Neuberger (Reference Neuberger1919, 145) also stated that a silvered Cycladic pottery vessel dated to c.2500 bc was on display at the Athens National Museum; this was a small Early Cycladic jug from Naxos (Stephanos Reference Stephanos1906, 88; Doumas Reference Doumas1977, 60).

32 Three vessels are missing. The remainder have been moved to the Mycenae Museum with other finds from this tomb.

33 Galanakis, pers. comm.; this tomb was excavated in 2017 and is currently under study.

34 In addition to these, two tinned vessels from Chamber Tombs ΛΕ and ΛΣΤ are on display at Nauplion Museum (see Appendix). Both tombs were excavated in 1973 and have not been published; the preliminary report did not mention tinned ceramics (Protonotariou-Deilaki Reference Protonotariou-Deilaki1973–4). Pantelidou also mentions a tinned vessel from Nauplion (Pantelidou Reference Pantelidou1975, 173 no. 3570); the museum numbers are not given in the current display.

35 It is not clear whether this date was obtained through analysis of the sherd or because the authors believed that tinning was restricted to LH IIIA1–2 (Davis, Bennet, and Shelmerdine Reference Davis, Bennet, Shelmerdine, Betancourt, Karageorghis, Laffineur and Niemeier1999, 447, including n. 258). LH IIIB material was also discovered (Davis, Bennet, and Shelmerdine Reference Davis, Bennet, Shelmerdine, Betancourt, Karageorghis, Laffineur and Niemeier1999, 448), especially kylix stems (McDonald and Hope Simpson Reference McDonald and Hope Simpson1961, 237).

36 Three handleless bowls, one Type 271 kylix, three Type 272 kylikes, one Type 266 kylix and one Type 267 kylix (Immerwahr Reference Immerwahr1966, 395).

37 The authors did not explain how they came to obtain this information, so the vessels have been listed as possible examples in the Appendix. Immerwahr also suggested that tinned ceramics were present in Tomb II based upon illustrations in Blegen Reference Blegen1937. There are potentially many more examples from Prosymna. Not every vessel was illustrated and tinning is difficult to recognise using photographs alone, especially on painted vessels.

38 As with Prosymna, the publication made no reference to the clearly visible traces of tinning.

39 Immerwahr (Reference Immerwahr1966, 394) listed tinned kylix A861 as a find from Old Tomb 5. This cannot have been the case. Only two kylikes were recovered from this tomb (Furtwängler and Loeschcke Reference Furtwängler and Loeschcke1886, 8), both of which are listed by Forsdyke (Reference Forsdyke1925, 154 A866 and 153 A860); no context is given for A861 (Forsdyke Reference Forsdyke1925, 153). A860 is entry 21 in Furtwängler and Loeschcke Reference Furtwängler and Loeschcke1886, not 21a as listed in Forsdyke; this mistake originated in the labelling of Furtwängler and Loeschcke Reference Furtwängler and Loeschcke1886 pl. III. The assignment of A850 to Tomb A is speculative (Forsdyke Reference Forsdyke1925, 139). No vessel matching its description is present in the inventory for Tomb A listed in Furtwängler and Loeschcke (Reference Furtwängler and Loeschcke1886, 5–7).

40 Another vessel (A862) was thought to exhibit the same technique (Forsdyke Reference Forsdyke1925, 153) but upon later examination was found to have a dark glaze (Immerwahr Reference Immerwahr1966, 388 n. 32).

41 Referred to as Maritso-Kapsalovouno (Coccala) in Mee Reference Mee1982, 49.

42 It does not include piriform and hole-mouthed jars, which are only categorised as ‘possibly tinned’.

43 The Minoan conical cup has been treated as a separate form to the mainland handleless bowl (French and Tomlinson Reference French, Tomlinson, Betancourt, Karageorghis, Laffineur and Niemeier1999, 259).

44 The two-handled bowl from Gournes (Kanta Reference Kanta1980, 48 no. 5) was not illustrated and may be a shallow angular bowl.

45 See n. 29.

46 Only counting contexts with completely published contents.

47 This information was available for 71.9% of mainland vessels, 88.2% of vessels from Rhodes but only 15.6% of vessels from Crete, hence their exclusion from this discussion. This is because the terminology applied to Cretan stemmed cups, especially in older publications, lacks standardisation (Hallager Reference Hallager, Hallager and Hallager1997).

48 This applies to 11 different contexts. Ialysos Old Tomb A has been excluded from this analysis because there is some doubt over its contents (see n. 39).

49 Ialysos New Tomb 4 is the only exception (Benzi Reference Benzi1992). Only one tinned angular kylix has been positively identified in Prosymna Tomb XLI, but the size of this tomb's tinned assemblage is unknown.

50 For example, Immerwahr Reference Immerwahr1971, 173 P17, 775 III-8.

51 Mountjoy Reference Mountjoy, Hägg, Nordquist and Wells1996, 64 no. 7; 65 nos 23, 24; 66, no. 73.

52 Polychronakou-Sgouritsa Reference Polychronakou-Sgouritsa1988, 60–1 no. 1; 67 no. 30; 69 no. 38; 70 no. 45.

53 On display in Nauplion Museum.

54 Tzedakis and Martlew Reference Tzedakis and Martlew1999, 177 fig. 170; 248 fig. 255.

55 Forsdyke Reference Forsdyke1925, 153 A860.

56 Papadimitriou Reference Papadimitriou2001, 54 P9.

57 For example, in Mycenae Chamber Tomb 502 (Wace Reference Wace1932).

58 Suggested for Prosymna Tomb XV (Blegen Reference Blegen1937) and Sellopoulo Tomb 3 (Popham and Catling Reference Popham and Catling1974).

59 For example, Zapher Papoura Tomb 7 (Evans Reference Evans1905) and Vravron Tomb B (Papadopoulos and Kontorli-Papadopoulou Reference Papadopoulos and Kontorli-Papadopoulou2014).

60 Including Dendra Chamber Tomb 10 (Persson Reference Persson1942), Athens Tombs I and III (Immerwahr Reference Immerwahr1971), Sellopoulo Tombs 3 and 4 (Popham and Catling Reference Popham and Catling1974), Mycenae Tomb 515 (Wace Reference Wace1932) and Berbati (Holmberg, E.J. Reference Holmberg1983).

61 For example, Dendra Chamber Tomb 10, which was only used once (Persson Reference Persson1942).

62 For example, Gournes Tomb 2 (Kanta Reference Kanta1980).

63 Argos Tomb T.164 (Papadimitriou Reference Papadimitriou2001), Athens Tomb I (Immerwahr Reference Immerwahr1971) and Dendra Chamber Tomb 10; it is interesting to note that the latter had been gilded (Persson Reference Persson1942).

64 At Asine, the excavators suggested that the vessel group near the entrance to Tomb I:1, which included tinned examples, had been placed on a table (Frödin and Persson Reference Frödin and Persson1938, 377). However, there was no physical evidence to support this, and since the vessels are of different dates, they were probably swept together in preparation for later burials (Mountjoy Reference Mountjoy, Hägg, Nordquist and Wells1996, 53).

65 Warren (Reference Warren1985, 207) refers to the coating as a tin oxide slip but, as discussed above, it was originally tin foil; the tin oxide currently present on the vessels is the preserved remains of the tin after transformation by various post-deposition and post-excavation processes.

66 Various attempts have been made to examine social structure and social change by comparing the wealth of different tombs (for example, Mee and Cavanagh Reference Mee and Cavanagh1990; Graziadio Reference Graziadio1991; Voutsaki Reference Voutsaki, Laffineur and Niemeier1995); however, investigating the emic values used as the basis for mortuary assemblages is not easy, and modern value assumptions are difficult to avoid. For a fuller discussion of this issue see Aulsebrook Reference Aulsebrook2012, 10–14, 103–4.

67 Gold has been chosen because its high value is generally accepted (Whittaker Reference Whittaker, Hitchcock, Laffineur and Crowley2008, 94; Sherratt Reference Sherratt and Karageorghis1994, 62; Gillis Reference Gillis, Nosch and Laffineur2012, 584; Aulsebrook Reference Aulsebrook2012, 137–8), and because it is relatively easy to identify (since it does not tarnish or perish, and is resistant to heat damage). Gold is more likely to be mentioned in excavation reports and, although a target for looters, the common Mycenaean usage of foils means some scraps usually survive.

68 Site I21 in PRAP site catalogue; no. 202 in Hope Simpson Reference Hope Simpson1965, 65; no. 19 in McDonald and Rapp Reference McDonald and Rapp1972, 266–7; D19 in Hope Simpson and Dickinson Reference Hope Simpson and Dickinson1979, 134.

69 This vessel was not mentioned in the publication of the Unexplored Mansion (Popham et al. Reference Popham, Betts, Cameron, Catling, Evely, Higgins and Smyth1984).

70 Although these levels are most strongly associated with bronze-working (Popham et al. Reference Popham, Betts, Cameron, Catling, Evely, Higgins and Smyth1984, 203–22), the find of a crucible containing a gold-silver-copper alloy demonstrated that gold and silver were also worked (Catling and Jones Reference Catling and Jones1977, 62; Popham et al. Reference Popham, Betts, Cameron, Catling, Evely, Higgins and Smyth1984, 254). The handling of gold and tin foils would have been very similar (Gillis Reference Gillis1994, 57 n. 2).

72 I have not included LH I contexts in this analysis as there is no definite evidence for the deposition of tinned ceramics on the Greek mainland during this period.

73 Although Furumark (Reference Furumark1972a, 52) describes the shallow angular cup as having a ‘metallic character’, there are simply no convincing parallels in the metal vessel corpus that share the fundamental characteristics of the shallow angular cup. The use of a metallic style in pottery or the incorporation of features common within the metal vessel assemblage into a ceramic vessel does not constitute evidence for a specific metal prototype.

74 Evans (Reference Evans1928, 640) suggested that the decorative features of a particular ceramic stirrup jar from Zapher Papoura demonstrated the existence of metal prototypes, especially the inclusion of a fake rivet on its spout and the use of plastic shield ornaments. In fact, plastic ornamentation is exceedingly rare in the metal vessel corpus; in a study of 179 decorated metal vessels from the Late Bronze Age Greek mainland only 10, or 5.6 per cent, incorporated plastic ornamentation (Aulsebrook Reference Aulsebrook2012, 478–793). The fake rivet was located in a position that would have been illogical on an actual metal spout; fake rivets should not be taken as evidence of direct imitation of metal prototypes, as they are rarely placed in the same position as rivets found on metalware (McCullough Reference McCullough2014, 109). These metallic features should be understood as a general decorative style rather than a faithful rendering of objects not otherwise preserved in the archaeological record. Furthermore, the unique shape of the stirrup jar, first developed in MM III (Hallager Reference Hallager and Cline2010, 410), would have been too complex for contemporary Cretan metalsmiths to produce (Clarke, pers. comm.; Reference Clarke2013).

75 The only comparable assemblages were those of the tholos (Persson Reference Persson1931), Chamber Tomb 2 (Persson Reference Persson1931) and Chamber Tomb 12 (Åström Reference Åström1977).

76 This may have arisen due to the illustrations accompanying Persson's discussion of the ceramic and silver vessels from this tomb. Fig. 117 provided a visual comparison of the silver vessel assemblage from Shaft II with the range of ceramic shapes, both tinned and untreated, from the tomb. However, the caption does not make it clear that some of the illustrated clay vessels were not tinned (as is apparent from the catalogue descriptions). This has apparently misled some later scholars into believing that fig. 117 proved a direct one-to-one correspondence between the silver and tinned vessel forms (for example, Immerwahr Reference Immerwahr1966, 383; Mountjoy Reference Mountjoy1993, 66). The issue was further compounded by the accompanying text. Persson incorrectly stated that ‘(I)t is exactly those clay vessels from our shaft which are counterparts of silver vases that have the greyish incrustation’ (Persson Reference Persson1942, 137). This obviously has had a significant bearing on the interpretation of the tomb's tinned ceramics, which were in fact illustrated separately in fig. 103.

77 The evidence for this will be discussed in a forthcoming report by Dr Demakopoulou and me.

78 These are the only examples known in silver. Others in bronze or copper have been found in the Tomb of the Genii at Mycenae (Wace et al. Reference Wace, Heurtley, Lamb, Holland and Boethius1921–3, 386 f), Chamber Tomb 14 at Zapher Papoura (Evans Reference Evans1905, 433 14m fig. 33 pl. LXXXIX) and Tomb 35 at Armenoi (Tzedakis and Martlew Reference Tzedakis and Martlew1999, 258).

79 See n. 77.

80 A term to describe copper thinly coated by silver via a chemical fusion process, which enables the two metals to be worked together as a single material (Charles Reference Charles1968, 278; La Niece Reference La Niece, La Niece and Craddock1993, 205).

81 Gillis (Reference Gillis, Young, Pollard, Budd and Ixer1999a, 142) suggested that tin may have been more highly valued than silver. Her argument assumed that the long-distance exchange networks required to acquire tin outweighed in value terms any other consideration. Value is rarely that simple. The use of silver in the manufacture of metal vessels from the Late Bronze Age Greek mainland indicates it was valued second to gold, although its relationship to tin is impossible to determine in this way because tin was only ever incorporated into these metal vessels when alloyed (Aulsebrook Reference Aulsebrook2012, 137–9). Silver has to be recovered through cupellation (Stos-Gale and Gale Reference Stos-Gale and Gale1982, 467) and had a special economic role in the Eastern Mediterranean as a standard of exchange (Sherratt Reference Sherratt and Karageorghis1994, 68; Kelder Reference Kelder, Kleber and Pirngruber2016, 317), which may have given it a unique socio-cultural as well as economic status.

References

REFERENCES

Adrymi-Sismani, V. and Alexandrou, S. 2009. “Μυκηναϊκός θολωτός τάφος στη Θέση Καζανάκι”, in Mazarakis Ainian, A. (ed.) Αρχαιολογικό έργο Θεσσαλίας και Στερεάς Ελλάδας 2 (Volos), 133–49.Google Scholar
Alberti, L. 2001. ‘Costumi funerari Medio Minoici a Cnosso: la necropoli di Mavro Spileo’, SMEA 43, 163–87.Google Scholar
Alexiou, S. 1967. Υστερομινωικοί Τάφοι Λίμενος Κνωσού (Κατσαμπά) (Athens).Google Scholar
Alexiou, S. 1970. “Νέος τάφος παρά τον Λιμένα Κνωσού (A new chamber tomb at the harbour town of Knossos)”, AAA 3, 233–6.Google Scholar
Åström, P. 1977. The Cuirass Tomb and Other Finds at Dendra: Part 1, the Chamber Tombs (Gothenburg).Google Scholar
Aulsebrook, S. 2012. ‘Political strategies and metal vessels in Mycenaean societies: deconstructing prestige objects through an analysis of value’ (unpublished PhD thesis, University of Cambridge).Google Scholar
Aulsebrook, S. 2017. ‘Repair, recycle or modify? The response to damage and/or obsolescence in Mycenaean metal vessels during the Prepalatial and Palatial Periods and its implications for understanding metal recycling’, SMEA NS 3, 7–26.Google Scholar
Banou, E. 2008. ‘The tholos tombs of Messenia: an overview’, in Gallou, C., Georgiadis, M. and Muskett, G.M. (eds), Dioskouroi. Studies Presented to W.G. Cavanagh and C.B. Mee on the Anniversary of their 30-Year Joint Contribution to Aegean Archaeology (Oxford), 4254.Google Scholar
Bass, G.F., Pulak, C., Collon, D. and Weinstein, J. 1989. ‘The Bronze Age shipwreck at Ulu Burun. 1986 campaign’, AJA 93, 129.Google Scholar
Benzi, M. 1992. Rodi e la civiltà micenea (Rome).Google Scholar
Blegen, C.W. 1937. Prosymna: the Helladic Settlement Preceding the Argive Heraeum (Cambridge).Google Scholar
Blegen, C.W., Rawson, M., Taylour, W. and Donovan, W.P. 1973. The Palace of Nestor III. Acropolis and Lower Town. Tholoi and Grave Circle. Chamber Tombs. Discoveries outside the Citadel (Princeton).Google Scholar
Borgna, E. 2004. ‘Aegean feasting: a Minoan perspective’, Hesperia 73, 247–79.Google Scholar
Boyd Hawes, H., Williams, B.E., Seager, R.B. and Hall, E.H. 1908. Gournia, Vasiliki and other Prehistoric Sites on the Isthmus of Hierapetra, Crete: Excavations of the Wells-Houston-Cramp Expeditions 1901, 1903, 1904 (Philadelphia).Google Scholar
Cardarelli, F. 2008. Materials Handbook: a Concise Desktop Reference, 2nd edn (London).Google Scholar
Catling, H.W. 1981–2. ‘Archaeology in Greece, 1981–1982’, AR 28, 362.Google Scholar
Catling, H.W. and Jones, R.E. 1977. ‘Analyses of copper and bronze artefacts from the Unexplored Mansion, Knossos’, Archaeometry 19, 5766.Google Scholar
Charles, J.A. 1968. ‘The first Sheffield Plate’, Antiquity 42, 278–85.Google Scholar
Clarke, C.F. 2013. The Manufacture of Minoan Metal Vessels: Theory and Practice (Uppsala).Google Scholar
D'Agata, A.-L. 2015. ‘Funerary behaviour and social identities in LM III Crete: the evidence from the chamber tombs at Ligortyno’, SMEA N.S. 1, 57103.Google Scholar
Davis, E.N. 1977. The Vapheio Cups and Aegean Gold and Silver Ware (New York).Google Scholar
Davis, J.L., Bennet, J. and Shelmerdine, C.W. 1999. ‘The Pylos Regional Archaeological Project: the prehistoric investigations’, in Betancourt, P.P., Karageorghis, V., Laffineur, R. and Niemeier, W.-D. (eds), Meletemata: Studies in Aegean Archaeology Presented to Malcolm H. Wiener as He Enters His 65th Year (Liège and Texas), 177–84.Google Scholar
Demakopoulou, K. 1990. ‘The burial ritual in the tholos tomb at Kokla, Argolis’, in Hägg, R. and Nordquist, G.C. (eds), Celebrations of Death and Divinity in the Bronze Age Argolid: Proceedings of the Sixth International Symposium at the Swedish Institute at Athens (Stockholm), 113–23.Google Scholar
Demakopoulou, K. 1993. ‘Argive Mycenaean pottery: evidence from the Necropolis at Kokla’, in Zerner, C., Zerner, P. and Winder, J. (eds), Wace and Blegen: Pottery as Evidence for Trade in the Aegean Bronze Age 1939–1989 (Amsterdam), 5680.Google Scholar
Demakopoulou, K. 1997. ‘Crete and the Argolid in the LM II/LH IIB to IIIA1 periods. Evidence from Kokla’, in Driessen, J. and Farnoux, A. (eds), La Crète mycénienne (Paris), 101–12.Google Scholar
Demakopoulou, K. and Konsola, D. 1981. Archaeological Museum of Thebes (Athens).Google Scholar
Dickinson, O. 2006. The Aegean from Bronze Age to Iron Age: Continuity and Change between the Twelfth and Eighth Centuries bc (London and New York).Google Scholar
Dimaki, S. and Papageorgiou, M. 2015. “Σύνολο Μυκηναϊκών επικασσιτερωμένων αγγείων από το Καλαπόδι Λοκρίδας”, in Mazarakis Ainian, A. (ed.), Αρχαιολογικό έργο Θεσσαλίας και Στερεάς Ελλάδας 4 (Volos), 849–58.Google Scholar
Doumas, C. 1977. Early Bronze Age Burial Habits in the Cyclades (Gothenburg).Google Scholar
Driessen, J. and MacDonald, C. 1984. ‘Some military aspects of the Aegean in the late fifteenth and early fourteenth centuries B.C.’, BSA 79, 4974.Google Scholar
Evans, A.J. 1905. ‘The Prehistoric Tombs of Knossos’, Archaeologia 59, 391562.Google Scholar
Evans, A.J. 1914. ‘The Tomb of the Double Axes’, Archaeologia 65, 194.Google Scholar
Evans, A.J. 1928. The Palace of Minos: A Comparative Account of the Successive Stages of the Early Cretan Civilisation as Illustrated by the Discoveries at Knossos. Vol. II (London).Google Scholar
Evans, Α.J. 1930. The Palace of Minos: A Comparative Account of the Successive Stages of the Early Cretan Civilisation as Illustrated by the Discoveries at Knossos. Vol. III (London).Google Scholar
Evans, A.J. 1935. The Palace of Minos: A Comparative Account of the Successive Stages of the Early Cretan Civilisation as Illustrated by the Discoveries at Knossos. Vol. IV.2 (London).Google Scholar
Evely, R.D.G. 2000. Minoan Crafts: Tools and Techniques. An Introduction (Jonsered).Google Scholar
Fang, J.-L. and McDonnell, G. 2011. ‘The colour of copper alloys’, Historical Metallurgy 45, 5261.Google Scholar
Farnsworth, M. 1966. ‘Appendix II: spectrographic analysis of samples’, Hesperia 35, 396.Google Scholar
Forsdyke, E.J. 1925. Catalogue of the Greek and Etruscan Vases in the British Museum. Vol. 1 Part 1: Prehistoric Aegean Pottery (London).Google Scholar
Forsdyke, E.J. 1926–7. ‘The Mavro Spelio cemetery at Knossos’, BSA 28, 243–96.Google Scholar
Foster, K.P. 1979. Aegean Faience of the Bronze Age (New Haven).Google Scholar
Freeman, P. 1999. ‘Homeric κασσίτερος’, Glotta 75, 222–5.Google Scholar
French, E. 2002. Mycenae: Agamemnon's Capital. The Site in its Setting (Gloucestershire).Google Scholar
French, E.B. and Tomlinson, J.E. 1999. ‘The mainland ‘Conical Cup’’, in Betancourt, P.P., Karageorghis, V., Laffineur, R. and Niemeier, W.-D. (eds), Meletemata: Studies in Aegean Archaeology Presented to Malcolm H. Wiener as He Enters His 65th Year (Liège and Austin), 259–65.Google Scholar
Frödin, O. and Persson, A.W. 1938. Asine: Results of the Swedish excavations, 1922–1930 (Stockholm).Google Scholar
Furtwängler, A. and Loeschcke, G. 1886. Mykenische Vasen: vorhellenische Thongefässe aus dem Gebiete des Mittelmeeres (Berlin).Google Scholar
Furumark, A. 1972a. Mycenaean Pottery. Vol. 1: Analysis and Classification (Stockholm).Google Scholar
Furumark, A. 1972b. Mycenaean Pottery. Vol. 2: Chronology (Stockholm).Google Scholar
Gillis, C. 1991. ‘Tin in the Aegean Bronze Age’, Hydra 8, 130.Google Scholar
Gillis, C. 1991–2. ‘All that glitters is not gold’, MedMusB 26–27, 2432.Google Scholar
Gillis, C. 1994. ‘Binding evidence. Tin foil and organic binder on Aegean Late Bronze Age pottery’, OpAth 20, 5761.Google Scholar
Gillis, C. 1995. ‘Tin-coated ceramic vessels in the Aegean Late Bronze Age: results and implications from TOF SIMS and ESCA surface analyses’, in Vendrell-Saz, M., Pradell, T., Molera, J. and Garcia, M. (eds), Estudis Sobre Ceràmica Antiga: Actes del Simposi Sobre Ceràmica Antiga (Barcelona), 3540.Google Scholar
Gillis, C. 1996a. ‘Tin at Asine’, in Hägg, R., Nordquist, G.C. and Wells, B. (eds), Asine III: Supplementary Studies on the Swedish Excavations 1922–1930 (Stockholm), 93100.Google Scholar
Gillis, C. 1996b. ‘The Asine Chamber Tombs-Graves of Kings?’, in De Miro, E., Godart, L. and Sacconi, A. (eds), Atti e memorie del secondo Congresso internazionale di micenologia (Rome), 1193–203.Google Scholar
Gillis, C. 1997. ‘Tin-covered Late Bronze Age vessels: analyses and social implication’, in Gillis, C., Risberg, C. and Sjöberg, B. (eds), Trade and Production in Premonetary Greece: Production and the Craftsman. Proceedings of the 4th and 5th International Workshops, Athens 1994 and 1995 (Jonsered), 131–8.Google Scholar
Gillis, C. 1999a. ‘The economic value and colour symbolism in tin’, in Young, S.N.M., Pollard, A.M., Budd, P. and Ixer, R.A. (eds), Metals in Antiquity (Oxford), 140–5.Google Scholar
Gillis, C. 1999b. ‘The significance of color for metals in the Aegean Bronze Age’, in Betancourt, P.P., Karageorghis, V., Laffineur, R. and Niemeier, W.-D. (eds), Meletemata: Studies in Aegean Archaeology Presented to Malcolm H. Wiener as He Enters His 65th Year (Liège and Texas), 289–98.Google Scholar
Gillis, C. 2000. ‘The social significance of tin in the Aegean Late Bronze Age. Form, function and context’, in Olausson, D. and Vandkilde, H. (eds), Material Culture Studies in Scandinavian Archaeology (Lund), 227–38.Google Scholar
Gillis, C. 2001. ‘Tin-covered pottery and chemical analyses: a summary’, in Bassiakos, Y., Aloupi, E. and Facorellis, Y. (eds), Archaeometry Issues in Greek Prehistory and Antiquity (Athens), 451–8.Google Scholar
Gillis, C. 2004. ‘The use of colour in the Aegean Bronze Age’, in Cleland, L. and Stears, K. (eds), Colour in the Ancient Mediterranean World (Oxford), 5660.Google Scholar
Gillis, C. 2012. ‘Color for the dead, status for the living’, in Nosch, M.-L. and Laffineur, R. (eds), Kosmos: Jewellery, Adornment and Textiles in the Aegean Bronze Age. Proceedings of the 13th International Aegean Conference (Leuven and Liège), 579–88.Google Scholar
Gillis, C. and Bohm, C. 1994. ‘Tin covered vessels in the Aegean Bronze Age: methods of application’, in Burragato, F., Grubessi, O. and Lazzarini, L. (eds), 1st European Workshop on Archaeological Ceramics (Rome), 217–27.Google Scholar
Gillis, C. and Clayton, R. 2008. ‘Tin and the Aegean in the Bronze Age’, in Tzachili, I. (ed.), Aegean Metallurgy in the Bronze Age (Athens), 133–42.Google Scholar
Gillis, C., Holmberg, B. and Widelöv, A. 1995. ‘Aegean Bronze Age tinned vessels: analyses and social implications’, in Vincenzini, P. (ed.), The Ceramics Cultural Heritage: Proceedings of the International Symposium, 8th CIMTEC–World Ceramics Congress and Forum on New Materials, Florence, Italy. June 28 – July 2, 1994 (Florence), 251–60.Google Scholar
Godart, L. and Tzedakis, Y. 1992. Témoignages archéologiques et épigraphiques en Crète occidentale, du Néolithique au Minoen Récent III B (Rome).Google Scholar
Graziadio, G. 1991. ‘The process of social stratification at Mycenae in the Shaft Grave Period: a comparative examination of the evidence’, AJA 95, 403–40.Google Scholar
Guglielmino, R. 1979. ‘La tholos nr. 1 di Tragana’, AnnPisa 9, 425–57.Google Scholar
Hallager, B.P. 1997. ‘Terminology – the Late Minoan goblet, kylix and footed cup’, in Hallager, E. and Hallager, B.P. (eds), Late Minoan III Pottery Chronology and Terminology (Athens), 1547.Google Scholar
Hallager, B.P. 2010. ‘Minoan Pottery’, in Cline, E. (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of the Bronze Age Aegean (ca. 3000–1000 bc) (Oxford), 405–14.Google Scholar
Hatzaki, E. 2005. ‘Postpalatial Knossos: Town and Cemeteries from LM IIIA2 to LM IIIC’, in D'Agata, A.L. and Moody, J. (eds), Ariadne's Threads: Connections between Crete and the Greek Mainland in Late Minoan III (LM IIIA2 to LM IIIC) (Athens), 65108.Google Scholar
Hatzaki, E. 2007. ‘Final Palatial (LM II–IIIA2) and Postpalatial (LM IIIB–LM IIIC Early): MUM South Sector, Long Corridor Cists, MUM Pits (8, 10–11), Makritikhos ‘Kitchen’, MUM North Platform Pits, and SEX Southern Half Groups’, in Momigliano, N. (ed.), Knossos Pottery Handbook: Neolithic and Bronze Age (Minoan) (London), 197251.Google Scholar
Haustein, M., Gillis, C. and Pernicka, E. 2010. ‘Tin isotopy – a new method for solving old questions’, Archaeometry 52, 816–32.Google Scholar
Holmberg, E.J. 1983. A Mycenaean Chamber Tomb near Berbati in Argolis (Gothenburg).Google Scholar
Holmberg, K. 1983. ‘Application of tin to ancient pottery’, JAS 10, 383–4.Google Scholar
Hope Simpson, R. 1965. A Gazetteer and Atlas of Mycenaean Sites (London).Google Scholar
Hope Simpson, R. and Dickinson, O.T.P.K. 1979. A Gazetteer of Aegean Civilization in the Bronze Age, Vol. 1: The Mainland and the Islands (Gothenburg).Google Scholar
Immerwahr, S.A. 1966. ‘The use of tin on Mycenaean vases’, Hesperia 35, 381–96.Google Scholar
Immerwahr, S.A. 1971. The Neolithic and Bronze Ages (Princeton).Google Scholar
Jones, R.E. 1986. Greek and Cypriot Pottery: A Review of Scientific Studies (Athens).Google Scholar
Kanta, A. 1980. The Late Minoan III Period in Crete. A Survey of Sites, Pottery, and their Distribution (Gothenburg).Google Scholar
Karageorghis, V. 1974. Excavations in the Necropolis of Salamis III (Salamis, Vol. 5; Nicosia).Google Scholar
Karo, G. 1930. Die Schachtgräber von Mykenai (Munich).Google Scholar
Kelder, J.M. 2016. ‘Mycenae, rich in silver’, in Kleber, K. and Pirngruber, R. (eds), Silver, Money and Credit. A Tribute to Robartus J. van der Spek on Occasion of his 65th Birthday on 18 September 2014 (Leiden), 309–19.Google Scholar
Keramopoullos, Ε. 1917. “Μυκηναϊκοί τάφοι Κολωνακίου ή Αγ. Αννης”, ΑrchDelt 3, 123209.Google Scholar
Kolonas, L. 2009. Voudeni. An Important Site of Mycenaean Achaia (Athens).Google Scholar
Korres, G.S. 1974. “Ανασκαφαί Πύλου”, Prakt 129, 139–62.Google Scholar
Korres, G.S. 1982. ‘Burial customs in Tholos Tomb 2 at Routsi (Myrsinochori)’, in Frolikova, O., Frolikova, P. and Frolikova, A. (eds), Concilium Eirene XVI. Vol. III, Section IV: Mycenaeological Colloquium (Prague), 91–7.Google Scholar
Kotitsa, Z. 2012. ‘Metal-coated pottery in Macedonia in Late Classical and Hellenistic Period’, in Drougou, S. and Touratsoglou, Y. (eds), Topics on Hellenistic Pottery in Ancient Macedonia (Athens), 109–25.Google Scholar
Kotitsa, Z. and Schüssler, U. 2002. ‘Zinn auf Keramik: Entstehung und Verwendung eines Statussymbols in Makedonien’, AA 2002, 6584.Google Scholar
Koumouzelis, M. 1989. “Ελληνικά Αντείας”, ArchDelt 44 B1, 110–11.Google Scholar
Koumouzelis, M. 1996. ‘A monumental chamber tomb at Ellinika, Messenia’, in Miro, E., Godart, L. and Sacconi, A. (eds), Atti e Memorie del Secondo Congresso Internazionale di Micenologia (Rome), 1221–8.Google Scholar
Kourouniotis, K. 1914. “Πύλου Μεσσηνιακής θολωτός τάφος”, ArchEph 53, 99117.Google Scholar
Laffineur, R. 1993. ‘Material and craftmanship in the Mycenaean shaft graves: imports vs local productions’, Minos 25–26, 245–95.Google Scholar
La Niece, S. 1993. ‘Silvering’, in La Niece, S. and Craddock, P. (eds), Metal Plating and Patination: Cultural, Technical and Historical Developments (Oxford), 201–10.Google Scholar
Lis, B. 2008. ‘Cooked food in the Mycenaean feast – evidence from the cooking pots’, in Hitchcock, L.A., Laffineur, R. and Crowley, J. (eds), Dais: the Aegean Feast: Proceedings of the 12th International Aegean Conference (Liège and Austin), 141–50.Google Scholar
Lloyd, J.F. 2011. ‘The South House at Knossos: more than a house?’, in Glowacki, K.T. and Vogeikoff-Brogan, N. (eds), Στέγα: The Archaeology of Houses and Households in Ancient Crete (Hesperia Supplement 44; Princeton), 163–75.Google Scholar
McCullough, T. 2014. ‘Metal to clay: “recovering” Middle Minoan metal vessels from Knossos and Phaistos through their ceramic skeuomorphs’ (unpublished PhD thesis, University of Pennsylvania).Google Scholar
McDonald, W.A. and Hope Simpson, R. 1961. ‘Prehistoric habitation in southwestern Peloponnese’, AJA 65, 221–60.Google Scholar
McDonald, W.A. and Rapp, G.R. Jr. (eds) 1972. The Minnesota Messenia Expedition. Reconstructing a Bronze Age Regional Environment (Minneapolis).Google Scholar
Marinatos, S. 1972. ‘New advances in the field of ancient pottery technique’, AAA 5, 293–7.Google Scholar
Matthäus, H. 1980. Die Bronzegefässe der kretisch-mykenischen Kultur (Prähistorische Bronzefunde 1; Munich).Google Scholar
Mee, C.B. 1982. Rhodes in the Bronze Age (Warminster).Google Scholar
Mee, C.B. and Cavanagh, W.G. 1990. ‘The spatial distribution of Mycenaean tombs’, BSA 85, 225–44.Google Scholar
Michailidou, A. 2001. ‘Recording quantities of metal in Bronze Age societies in the Aegean and the Near East’, in Michailidou, A. (ed.), Manufacture and Measurement. Counting, Measuring and Recording. Craft Items in Early Aegean Societies (Athens), 84119.Google Scholar
Mossman, S. 1993. ‘Mycenaean lead: archaeology and technology’ (unpublished PhD thesis, University of Birmingham).Google Scholar
Mountjoy, P. 1993. Mycenaean Pottery: An Introduction (Oxford).Google Scholar
Mountjoy, P. 1995. Mycenaean Athens (Jonsered).Google Scholar
Mountjoy, P. 1996. ‘Asine Chamber Tomb I:1: the pottery’, in Hägg, R., Nordquist, G.C. and Wells, B. (eds), Asine III: Supplementary Studies on the Swedish Excavations 1922–1930 (Stockholm), 4767.Google Scholar
Mountjoy, P.A. 2003. Knossos: The South House (London).Google Scholar
Muhly, J.D. 1978. ‘New evidence for sources of and trade in Bronze Age tin’, in Franklin, A.D., Olin, J.S. and Wertime, T.A. (eds), The Search for Ancient Tin (Washington), 43–8.Google Scholar
Muhly, J.D. 1980. ‘Metals and metallurgy in Crete and the Aegean at the beginning of the Late Bronze Age’, in Betancourt, P.P. (ed.), TUAS 5. (Philadelphia), 2536.Google Scholar
Mylonas, G.E. 1972–3. Ο ταφικός κύκλος B των Μυκηνών (Athens).Google Scholar
Neuberger, A. 1919. Technik des Altertums (Leipzig).Google Scholar
Noll, W. and Heimann, R.B. 2016. Ancient Old World Pottery: Materials, Technology and Decoration (Stuttgart).Google Scholar
Noll, W., Holm, R. and Born, L. 1980. ‘Mineralogie und Technik zinnapplizierter antiker Keramik’, Neues Jahrbuch für Mineralogie Abhandlungen 139, 2642.Google Scholar
Orlandos, A.K. (ed.) 1980. Ergon 27.Google Scholar
Pantelidou, Μ.Α. 1971. “Επικασσιτερωμένα αγγεία εξ Αθηνών”, AAA 4, 433–8.Google Scholar
Pantelidou, M.A. 1975. Αι προϊστορικαί Αθήναι (Athens).Google Scholar
Papadimitriou, N. 2001. ‘T. 164 – an early LH built chamber tomb from Argos’, BSA 96, 4179.Google Scholar
Papadopoulos, T.I. and Kontorli-Papadopoulou, L. 2014. Vravron: The Mycenaean Cemetery (Uppsala).Google Scholar
Persson, A.W. 1931. The Royal Tombs at Dendra near Midea (Lund).Google Scholar
Persson, A.W. 1942. New Tombs at Dendra near Midea (Lund).Google Scholar
Philip, G. and Rehren, T. 1996. ‘Fourth millennium bc silver from Tell esh-Shuna, Jordan: archaeometallurgical investigation and some thoughts on ceramic skeuomorphs’, OJA 15, 129–50.Google Scholar
Piteros, C. 2008. “Νεκροταφείο Ευαγγελίστριας, Πεζόδρομος”, ArchDelt 63 B1B, 268–73.Google Scholar
Piteros, C. 2015. ‘Mycenaean Nauplion’, in Schallin, A.-L. and Tournavitou, I. (eds), Mycenaeans up to Date: The Archaeology of the North-Eastern Peloponnese – Current Concepts and New Directions (Stockholm), 241–59.Google Scholar
Platon, N. 1975. “Ανασκαφή Ζάκρου”, Prakt 130, 343–75.Google Scholar
Polychronakou-Sgouritsa, N. 1988. “Το Μυκηναίκο νεκροταφείο της Βάρκιζας/Βάρης”, ArchDelt 43Α, 1108.Google Scholar
Popham, M., Betts, J.H., Cameron, M., Catling, H.W., Evely, D., Higgins, R.A. and Smyth, D. 1984. The Minoan Unexplored Mansion at Knossos (Oxford).Google Scholar
Popham, M. and Catling, H.W. 1974. ‘Sellopoulo Tombs 3 and 4, two Late Minoan graves near Knossos’, BSA 69, 195257.Google Scholar
Preston, L. 1999. ‘Mortuary practices and the negotiation of social identities at LM II Knossos’, BSA 94, 131–43.Google Scholar
Preston, L. 2000. ‘A mortuary approach to cultural interaction and political dynamics on Late Minoan II–IIIB Crete’ (unpublished PhD thesis, UCL).Google Scholar
Preston, L. 2004. ‘A mortuary perspective on political changes in Late Minoan II–IIIB Crete’, AJA 108, 321–48.Google Scholar
Preston, L. 2007. ‘The Isopata cemetery at Knossos’, BSA 102, 257314.Google Scholar
Protonotariou-Deilaki, E. 1973–4. “Ναυπλία”, ArchDelt 29 B2, 202–3.Google Scholar
Reeves, L. 2003. ‘Aegean and Anatolian Bronze Age metal vessels: a social perspective’ (unpublished PhD thesis, UCL).Google Scholar
Rehak, P. 1997. ‘Aegean art before and after the LM IB Cretan destructions’, in Laffineur, R. and Betancourt, P.P. (eds), ΤΕΧΝΗ: Craftsmen, Craftswomen and Craftsmanship in the Aegean Bronze Age (Liège and Austin), 5166.Google Scholar
Rutter, J.B. 2010. ‘Mycenaean pottery’, in Cline, E.H. (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of the Bronze Age Aegean (ca. 3000–1000 bc) (Oxford), 415–29.Google Scholar
Schallin, A.-L. 1993. Islands under Influence: The Cyclades in the Late Bronze Age and the Nature of Mycenaean Presence (Jonsered).Google Scholar
Shelton, K.S. 1996. The Late Helladic Pottery from Prosymna (Jonsered).Google Scholar
Shelton, K.S. 2000. ‘Four chamber tomb cemeteries at Mycenae’, ArchEph 139, 1764.Google Scholar
Shelton, K.S. 2008. ‘Drinking, toasting, consumption and libation: Late Helladic IIIA pottery and a cup for every occasion’, in Hitchcock, L.A., Laffineur, R. and Crowley, J. (eds), Dais: the Aegean Feast: Proceedings of the 12th International Aegean Conference (Liège and Austin), 221–8.Google Scholar
Sherratt, S. 1994. ‘Commerce, iron and ideology: metallurgical innovation in 12th–11th century Cyprus’, in Karageorghis, V. (ed.), Proceedings of the International Symposium of the Archaeological Research Unit of the University of Cyprus and the Anastasios G. Leventis Foundation (30–31 October 1993): Cyprus in the 11th Century B.C. (Nicosia), 59107.Google Scholar
Sjöberg, B.L. 2004. Asine and the Argolid in the Late Helladic III Period: A Socio-Economic Study (Oxford).Google Scholar
Soles, J. 2008. ‘Metal hoards from LM IB Mocholos, Crete’, in Tzachili, I. (ed.), Aegean Metallurgy in the Bronze Age (Athens), 143–56.Google Scholar
Stella, L.A. 1965. La Civiltà Micenea nei Documenti Contemporanei (Rome).Google Scholar
Stephanos, K. 1906. “Ανασκαφαί εν Νάξω”, Prakt 61, 86–9.Google Scholar
Stos-Gale, Z.A. and Gale, N.H. 1982. ‘The sources of Mycenaean silver and lead’, JFA 9, 467–85.Google Scholar
Thomas, H. 1938–9. ‘The Acropolis Treasure’, BSA 39, 6587.Google Scholar
Thomas, P.M. 2011. ‘Mycenaean tablewares and the curious careers of the angular kylix and shallow angular basin’, in Gauss, W., Lindblom, M., Angus, R., Smith, K. and Wright, J.C. (eds), Our Cups are Full: Pottery and Society in the Aegean Bronze Age. Papers Presented to Jeremy B. Rutter on the Occasion of his 65th Birthday (Oxford), 297305.Google Scholar
Tournavitou, I. 1992. ‘Practical use and social function: a neglected aspect of Mycenaean pottery’, BSA 87, 181210.Google Scholar
Tsountas, C. 1889. “Έρευναι εν τη Λακωνική και ο τάφος του Βαφειού”, ArchEph 28, 129–72.Google Scholar
Tzavella-Evjen, H. 2014. Mycenaean Pottery and Figurines: Keramopoullos Excavations from the Cemeteries of Thebes (Athens).Google Scholar
Tzedakis, Y. 1981. “Φυλακή Αποκορώνου”, ArchDelt 36 B2, 398–9.Google Scholar
Tzedakis, Y. and Martlew, H. 1999. Minoans and Mycenaeans. Flavours of Their Time. National Archaeological Museum 12 July – 27 November 1999 (Athens).Google Scholar
Untracht, O. 1968. Metal Techniques for Craftsmen (New York).Google Scholar
Vavritsas, A. 1968. “Ανασκαφή Τριών Μυκηναϊκών Τάφων εις Καμίνι Βαρκίζης”, ΑΑΑ Ι, 110–12.Google Scholar
Vermeule, E. 1964. Greece in the Bronze Age (Chicago).Google Scholar
Vickers, M. 1985. ‘Artful crafts: the influence of metalwork on Athenian painted pottery’, JHS 15, 108–28.Google Scholar
Voutsaki, S. 1995. ‘Social and political processes in the Mycenaean Argolid: the evidence from the mortuary practices’, in Laffineur, R. and Niemeier, W.-D. (eds), Politeia: Society and State in the Aegean Bronze Age (Liège and Austin), 5566.Google Scholar
Wace, A.J.B. 1932. Chamber Tombs at Mycenae (Oxford).Google Scholar
Wace, A.J.B., Heurtley, W.A., Lamb, W., Holland, L.B. and Boethius, C.A. 1921–3. ‘The report of the School excavations at Mycenae, 1921–1923 [corrected title: The report of the School excavations at Mycenae, 1920–1923]’, BSA 25, 1434.Google Scholar
Warren, P. 1969. Minoan Stone Vases (Cambridge).Google Scholar
Warren, P. 1985. ‘Review of a Mycenaean chamber tomb near Berbati in Argolis’, Classical Review 35, 207.Google Scholar
Whittaker, H. 2008. ‘The role of drinking in religious ritual in the Mycenaean Period’, in Hitchcock, L.A., Laffineur, R. and Crowley, J. (eds), Dais: the Aegean Feast: Proceedings of the 12th International Aegean Conference (Liège and Austin), 8996.Google Scholar
Wiener, M.H. 1991. ‘The nature and control of Minoan foreign trade’, in Gale, N.H. (ed.), Bronze Age Trade in the Mediterranean (Gothenburg), 325–50.Google Scholar
Wilkie, N.C. and Dickinson, O.T.P.K. 1992. ‘The MME tholos tomb’, in McDonald, W.A. and Wilkie, N.C. (eds), Excavations at Nichoria in Southwest Greece. Volume II: The Bronze Age Occupation (Minnesota), 231344.Google Scholar
Wolpert, A. 2004. ‘Getting past consumption and competition: legitimacy and consensus in the Shaft Graves’, in Barrett, J.C. and Halstead, P. (eds), The Emergence of Civilisation Revisited (Oxford), 127–44.Google Scholar
Wright, J.C. 1995. ‘Empty cups and empty jugs: the social role of wine in Minoan and Mycenaean societies’, in McGovern, P.E., Fleming, S.J. and Katz, S.H. (eds), The Origins and Ancient History of Wine (Philadelphia), 287309.Google Scholar
Wright, J.C. 2004. ‘Mycenaean Drinking Services and Standards of Etiquette’, in Halstead, P. and Barrett, J.C. (eds), Food, Cuisine and Society in Prehistoric Greece (Oxford), 90104.Google Scholar
Figure 0

Fig. 1. Map of the Aegean, showing the sites from which tinned vessels are known or have been reported. (1) Archanes; (2) Armenoi; (3) Gournes; (4) Isopata; (5) Katsambas; (6) Knossos; (7) Kritsa; (8) Ligortyno; (9) Mavro Spelio; (10) Phylaki Apokoronou; (11) Sellopoulo; (12) Zapher Papoura; (13) Voudeni; (14) Argos; (15) Asine; (16) Berbati; (17) Dendra; (18) Mycenae; (19) Nauplion; (20) Prosymna; (21) Athens; (22) Varkiza-Vari; (23) Vravron; (24) Prosilio; (25) Tanagra; (26) Thebes; (27) Ambelofytou Lagou; (28) Ellenika Antheias; (29) Myrsinochorion Routsi; (30) Nichoria; (31) Peristeria; (32) Pylos; (33) Tourliditsa; (34) Tragana; (35) Kalapodi; (36) Kazanaki; (37) Ialysos; (38) Maritsa. Map by author.

Figure 1

Table 1. Finds of tinned ceramics within LM IIIA1 assemblages.

Figure 2

Table 2. Finds of tinned ceramics from the Knossian region after LM IIIA1.

Figure 3

Table 3. Finds of tinned ceramics on Crete beyond the Knossian region.

Figure 4

Table 4. Number of sites in each region of the Greek mainland at which tinned vessels have been found and estimate of the total number of tinned vessels from each region.

Figure 5

Table 5. Known examples of LH IIIA1 tinned ceramics.

Figure 6

Table 6. Known examples of LH IIIA2 tinned ceramics.

Figure 7

Fig. 2. Sketches of the known tinned cup and bowl forms. Only the most frequent tinned kylix variants are illustrated. From left to right; top: FS 267 kylix, FS 272 kylix, FS 265 kylix, FS 264 kylix; middle: handleless bowl FS 204, shallow angular bowl FS 295, Minoan conical cup; bottom: mug, deep cup, shallow cup. Drawing by author.

Figure 8

Fig. 3. Sketches of the known tinned mixing and serving forms. Clockwise from top right: feeding bottle, stirrup jug, lekane, beaked jug; centre: dipper. Drawing by author.

Figure 9

Fig. 4. Sketches of the known tinned storage forms. Left: stirrup jar; right: alabastron. Drawing by author.

Figure 10

Table 7. Categories of shape found in the tinned vessel assemblages of the Greek mainland, Crete and Rhodes. SAB = Shallow angular bowl.

Figure 11

Fig. 5. Pie charts comparing the percentage of stemmed cups, handleless bowls, shallow angular bowls and other shapes in the tinned vessel assemblages of Mainland Greece, Crete and Rhodes.

Figure 12

Table 8. Comparison of the variants of stemmed cups on the Greek mainland and Rhodes. The first figure shows the total frequency, the figure in brackets the number of contexts in which each variant was found.

Figure 13

Fig. 6. Comparison of the ceramic shallow cup (left) and the most frequently found version of the silver shallow cup (right). Drawing by author.

Figure 14

Table A1. Site catalogue.

Figure 15

Table A2. Tinned vessel catalogue.