Cypriot pottery from Vounous

Cypriot pottery from Vounous

This is a collection of, what was originally thought to be, Early Cypriot I and II pottery (2500 – 2000 BC) excavated from the two cemeteries at the prehistoric site of Vounous, in the northern coast of Cyprus, by the Australian archaeologist James Stewart and his British wife Eleanor in 1937-38. 

 

This is part of the Ancient Cyprus collection.

There are 23 items of Cypriot pottery, fifteen from tomb 134 of  cemetery A and eight from tomb 123 of cemetery B of the prehistoric site of Vounous, in North Cyprus. The pots were dated by Stewart to the Early Cypriot Age I and II eras (2500 - 2000 BC) and considered to be of the type known as 'Red Polished'.  Red Polished pottery has a dark red surface and a shiny appearance. 

The excavation at Vounous was undertaken by James Stewart (1913-1962) for two seasons in 1937-38. It was a major undertaking and it involved the clearing of some 85 fully furnished tombs and a substantial volume of antiquities. James’s British wife Eleanor Stewart (1911-2002) was responsible for the accurate recording and drawing of all the material and it was her work that lay the foundations for James Stewart’s career as an archaeologist.

Map


Many of the antiquities discovered stayed with the Cypriot Department of Antiquities. Some of the material from the excavation was exhibited at the Institute of Archaeology in Regents Park in 1939. The Museum of Classical Archaeology, in Cambridge, 1952 donated the Vounous material from the excavation to our museum.