2021 Oxhide Ingots 2020. New Research.

Full text

arkadia
CONTATTI CULTURALI E SCAMBI
COMMERCIALI DELLA SARDEGNA
NURAGICA: LA ROTTA MERIDIONALE
(SARDEGNA, SICILIA, CRETA, CIPRO)
Atti del IV Festival della
Civiltà Nuragica (Orroli, Cagliari)
CULTURAL CONTACTS AND TRADE
IN NURAGIC SARDINIA:
THE SOUTHERN ROUTE
(SARDINIA, SICILY, CRETE AND CYPRUS)
Proceedings of the Fourth Festival
of the Nuragic Civilization
(Orroli, Cagliari)
a cura di Mauro Perra e Fulvia Lo Schiavo

Prima edizione settembre 2021
ISBN 978 88 68513 59 7
ARKADIA EDITORE
09125 Cagliari – Viale Bonaria 98
tel. 0706848663 – fax 0705436280
www.arkadiaeditore.it
info@arkadiaeditore.it
© 2021 ARKADIA EDITORE
CON IL CONTRIBUTO DI

INDICE
Presentazione
9 1. Presentazione del libro Il nuraghe Arrubiu di Orroli, volume 3.
Fra il Bastione Pentalobato e l’Antemurale, tomo 1, a cura di M.
Perra e F. Lo Schiavo, Massimo Casagrande
Prefazione. Immagini simboliche / Preface. Symbolic figu-
res
17 2. Sardinia and Cyprus: meeting island / Sardegna e Cipro: le
isole dell’Incontro, Fulvia Lo Schiavo
25 3. Hala Sultan Tekke, Cyprus, and Sardinia: reflections on In-
terconnected Economies and Culture / Hala Sultan Tekke, Ci-
pro e Sardegna: riflessioni sulle interconnessioni economiche
e culturali, Peter M. Fischer
Introduzione / Introduction
37 4. La metallurgia della Sardegna e Cipro: introduzione / The
metallurgy of Sardinia and Cyprus: an introduction, Fulvia
LoSchiavo
Il corpus della scrittura cipro-minoica / The corpus of
cypro-minoan inscriptions
57 5. Un aggiornamento sulla realizzazione del corpus della
scrittura cipro-minoica, Massimo Perna
Cipro e la Sardegna / Cyprus and Sardinia
67 6. Sardinians at Pyla-Kokkinokremos in Cyprus, Athanasia
Kanta

77 7. Hala Sultan Tekke, Cyprus, and Sardinia: intercultural Con-
nections in the Bronze Age, Peter M. Fischer
93 8. Le ceramiche grigie e nere nuragiche in Sardegna e lo studio
tipologico e petrografico delle scodelline dell’età del Bronzo
Recente rinvenute ad Hala Sultan Tekke, Cipro, Maria Giusep-
pina Gradoli, Mauro Perra
109 9. Oxhide Ingots 2020. New Research, Vasiliki Kassianidou
127 10. What could a copper oxhide ingot ‘buy’ in the markets of
the Late Bronze Age Eastern Mediterranean?, George Papasav-
vas
151 11. Contrasting Bronze Age textile production in the Terramare
region, Mycenaean Greece and in Cyprus: reflections and ideas
/ La produzione tessile nelle Terramare, in ambito miceneo e
a Cipro a confronto: riflessioni e spunti, Serena Sabatini, Maria
Emanuela Alberti
I Micenei in Occidente e in Sardegna / Mycenaeans in the
West and in Sardinia
177 12. Frammenti di ceramiche micenee dalla Torre C e dalla Tor-
re H del nuraghe Arrubiu di Orroli, Mauro Perra, Lucia Vagnetti
183 13. Produzione e consumo di una classe ceramica specializza-
ta nell’Italia protostorica: il caso della ceramica italo-micenea,
Marco Bettelli
Indizi di scrittura antica in Sardegna / Evidence of ancient
writing in Sardinia
197 14. Una fusaiola litica con segni incisi da una tomba nuragica
del tipo “a cassone allungato” dell’insediamento nuragico di
Sa Domu Beccia - Uras (Or), Raimondo Zucca, Massimo Perna,
Luciana Tocco
Conclusions
215 15. Sardinians in Cyprus, Cypriots in Sardinia? The state of the
question, Mark Pearce

PRESENTAZIONE

ATTI DEL IV FESTIVAL DELLA CIVILTÀ NURAGICA (ORROLI, CAGLIARI) 9
1
Presentazione del libro “Il nuraghe Arrubiu di Orroli, volume 3.
Fra il Bastione Pentalobato e l’Antemurale, tomo 1”
a cura di M. Perra e F. Lo Schiavo
Massimo Casagrande
Presentare questo volume durante il IV Festival Internazionale
della Civiltà Nuragica di Orroli è stata una eccellente occasione per
travalicare gli stretti ambiti scientifici in cui normalmente ci trovia-
mo ad operare, grazie all’utilizzo delle nuove tecnologie che supera-
no i limiti geografici e rendono facilmente reperibili i contenuti dei
nostri incontri per un lungo tempo.
Non credo sia necessario raccontare il terzo volume della collana
dedicata agli scavi del Nuraghe Arrubiu di Orroli in modo descrittivo,
ma grazie ai suoi punti di forza è possibile proporre alcune riflessioni.
Il libro è sorprendente. Completato già nel 2020, in dodici mesi ha
reso disponibili i risultati dello scavo del 2019, e in meno di due anni
arriva alla stampa definitiva. Questa operazione, che era usuale fino
Fig. 1. La copertina del volume Il nura-
ghe Arrubiu di Orroli. Fra il bastione pen-
talobato e l’antemurale, Vol. 3, Tomo 1.
Alla stesura di questo volume, curato da Mauro Perra e
Fulvia Lo Schiavo, hanno partecipato diversi collaboratori,
esperti in svariate discipline. Sono infatti presenti i
contributi di Mario Sanges (archeologo), Federico Villani
(F.T. Studio Srl, Torino), Cezary Namirsky (archeologo),
Daniela Orrù (archeologa), Luisa Bierstedt (archeologa),
Lucia Vagnetti (archeologa), Gabriele Manca e Donatella de
Rinaldis (architetti), Alfredo Carannante e Salvatore Chilardi
(archeozoologi), Velentina Leonelli (archeologa), Fabiana
Pistis (restauratrice), Ornella Fonzo (archeozoologa), Maria
Gabriella Puddu (archeologa).
Euro 30,00
In copertina: foto di Massimo Mereu
IL NURAGHE ARRUBIU DI ORROLI VOLUME 3
FRA IL BASTIONE PENTALOBATO E L’ANTEMURALE - TOMO I
IL NURAGHE ARRUBIU DI ORROLI
VOLUME 3
FRA IL BASTIONE PENTALOBATO
E L’ANTEMURALE
TOMO I
a cura di Mauro Perra e Fulvia Lo Schiavo
arkadia
Il terzo volume della collana dedicata
agli scavi nel nuraghe Arrubiu, non è
diverso dai precedenti. Infatti, come
da programma, si sono illustrati i
risultati degli scavi antichi e recenti
eettuati nella Torre D e nel Cortile
Y con i Silos 1 e 2, dei quali si è
ipotizzata la funzione di deposito
delle derrate a lunga conservazione;
come sempre, gli studi dei reperti più
significativi rinvenuti nel corso degli
scavi antichi e recenti, concludono
l’esposizione.
Invece si sono verificati due fatti
imprevedibili che, insieme, hanno
reso opportuno un cambiamento di
contenuti. La straordinaria ricchezza
di reperti rinvenuti nella Torre C e
di nuovo nella Torre D, nella quale
si è constatato che l’uso di “Cucina”
si è eettivamente prolungato per
due fasi sovrapposte, dal Bronzo
Recente al Bronzo Finale, ciascuna
documentata da strutture, materiali
e reperti speciali, non ha consentito
di elaborare per intero il materiale
rinvenuto: primi interventi di
restauro, documentazione grafica
e fotografica, schedatura e analisi,
altro che per una parte, che
possiamo correttamente definire
“anticipazione”.
Quanto allo scavo, dopo la Torre
D (2015-2016), l’interesse si è
concentrato sul Silos 2, con il Cortile
Y e la Capanna Y, in precedenza
scavati solo parzialmente (2017-
2018), e sulla Torre H (2019), la
più grande dell’antemurale, che
poneva un problema ancora più
vitale e mai arontato con uno scavo
archeologico sistematico: se cioè
gli antemurali siano stati aggiunti,
e quanto tempo dopo, intorno
ai bastioni polilobati dei nuraghi
complessi.
È questo il significato del titolo del
presente III volume Fra il Bastione
Pentalobato e l’Antemurale,
in quanto dedicato – in senso
strutturale e spaziale – al Cortile Y,
alla Capanna Y e ai Silos 1 e 2, e al
recentissimo scavo della Torre H,
oltre a un’anticipazione sulla Torre D.
Il disagio provocato dal Covid-19 ha
impedito che venissero eettuate
alcune analisi metallurgiche e
ha ostacolato il movimento degli
studiosi e con esso lo studio delle
faune, che già per la Torre C è
gravemente lacunoso. Poiché queste
vicende non hanno determinato il
mancato svolgimento delle ricerche,
ma solo il loro rallentamento,
contiamo sulla comprensione dei
nostri lettori, anche perché si è
cercato comunque di presentare
delle accettabili anticipazioni. Per
esempio, della Torre D si è data
la relazione di scavo integrale e
quasi per intero i livelli superiori
datati al Bronzo Finale, con il
materiale faunistico e con una prima
presentazione dei reperti speciali.
Il seguito alla prossima puntata, cioè
al Tomo II: è una promessa.

10 ATTI DEL IV FESTIVAL DELLA CIVILTÀ NURAGICA (ORROLI, CAGLIARI)
alla metà del XX secolo, oggi è da considerarsi un caso del tutto ecce-
zionale. Non si tratta del classico articolo con “notizie preliminari”,
per altro anch’esso ormai raramente presentato con tanta tempesti-
vità, ma della pubblicazione ragionata di uno scavo complesso, che
a sua volta è il frutto di una riflessione ultra trentennale su questo
fortunatissimo nuraghe. Per studiosi come Antonio Taramelli era
normale pubblicare i risultati delle loro ricerche in breve tempo. Il
loro metodo, definito da Marcello Barbanera “archeologia dell’at-
tenzione”, richiedeva una minore fase di rielaborazione dei dati, che
erano oggettivamente molto più scarni. A questo si aggiungeva, in
Sardegna, che lo stesso Soprintendente era al contempo autore
di gran parte della bibliografia di settore. Per finire, a semplificare
involontariamente il lavoro si aggiungeva la diicoltà di reperire
confronti e bibliografia oltre lo stretto ambito nazionale a causa di
una più lenta e diicile diusione delle ricerche. Sebbene Taramelli
fosse uno studioso illuminato che aveva fatto tesoro della sua col-
laborazione con Halbherr a Creta e che credeva fermamente nella
necessità di creare una fitta rete di rapporti internazionali, ai quali
si è dedicato per gran parte della sua vita, anche per lui gli scambi
con il mondo scientifico europeo e mediterraneo erano occasionali,
non sistematici e poco organici, comunque nulla di paragonabile al
nostro mondo globalizzato con le sue capillari connessioni. Queste,
che da un lato sono una grande conquista del nostro tempo, dall’al-
tro sono pur sempre un fardello che impone un grande investimento
di tempo e di energie nel rielaborare fruttuosamente i tanti stimoli
e i lontani confronti. Questo volume, quindi, se da un lato si ricolle-
ga al felice periodo scientifico della prima metà del ‘900 per i tempi
brevissimi della diusione dei dati, dall’altro ha dovuto arontare la
mole notevole della documentazione di scavo, una bibliografia lie-
vitata in modo esponenziale e connessioni scientifiche e culturali i
cui confini si sono dilatati almeno a tutto il Mediterraneo. L’impresa,
ardua per qualsiasi ambito di studi, è stata possibile solo grazie a
una non comune padronanza della materia.
Grazie a questo mondo dilatato e all’accesso alle ricerche inter-
nazionali, questo libro connette in maniera inedita, anche tramite
l’archeometria, la civiltà nuragica con Cipro, consolidando in manie-
ra scientifica un legame prima lasciato a elementi meno puntuali e
permettendo di fare maggiore luce sui legami tra le diverse culture

ATTI DEL IV FESTIVAL DELLA CIVILTÀ NURAGICA (ORROLI, CAGLIARI) 11
nel II millennio a.C. Il ritrovato legame tra le due isole, Sardegna e
Cipro, permette di riflettere sul ruolo degli “isolani” che le abitavano
e che erano tutt’altro che “isolati” e che vivevano, a dierenza di noi
oggi, la loro condizione non come un impedimento, ma come una
grande opportunità di utilizzare il mare come fondamentale vettore
degli scambi di persone, idee e merci.
Il Progetto Arrubiu, di cui questo terzo volume della collana
fa parte, nel suo complesso rappresenta una notevole eccezione
nell’attuale panorama dell’archeologia protostorica della Sardegna.
Prima di tutto per l’ampiezza temporale e la lungimiranza nella sua
attuazione. I lavori iniziati nel 1981 si sono dapprima concentrati
sull’obiettivo di liberare il monumento dai crolli che ingombravano i
suoi spazi in modo da renderlo fruibile al pubblico. Un impegno prin-
cipalmente nei confronti della Comunità di Orroli, ma che ha com-
portato per gli archeologi la coraggiosa e condivisibile scelta di non
scavare le stratigrafie sottostanti a questa imponente massa di pie-
tre, ma di lasciarle agli anni successivi. Per questo il libro collega due
campagne di ricerca lontane più di vent’anni l’una dall’altra: quella
del 1996 e quella del 2019. Il rigore delle indagini archeologiche tra-
spare anche nella coerenza dell’esposizione dei dati, evitando, dove
possibile, un inutile ed eccessivo tecnicismo. Quest’ultimo spesso
rende criptici i testi specialistici senza aggiungere elementi sostan-
ziali, soprattutto attraverso l’uso di un gergo archeologico che, con
una felice intuizione, Armando De Guio definì “da apprendisti strego-
ni”. Il libro coniuga, invece, l’alto livello scientifico con un approccio
linguistico accessibile ben oltre gli stretti limiti degli addetti ai lavori,
un testo che può raggiungere quegli appassionati che oggi sono le
inconsapevoli vittime di improvvisati “esperti” autodidatti o di ar-
cheologi che strizzano l’occhio al sensazionalismo, magari immagi-
nando improbabili collegamenti con luoghi lontani nello spazio e nel
tempo, ma che tanto piacciono al pubblico più vasto.
Punto di forza indiscutibile di questa pubblicazione è quello di
aver messo a disposizione l’intero insieme dei dati di scavo, così
come registrati. In un lavoro per sua natura distruttivo come lo sca-
vo, quello di rendere accessibile la documentazione rappresenta
l’unica vera possibilità di soddisfare i requisiti della “riproducibilità
dell’esperimento” alla base della definizione di scienza. Eppure que-
sta è una delle azioni più rare nel mondo archeologico internaziona-

12 ATTI DEL IV FESTIVAL DELLA CIVILTÀ NURAGICA (ORROLI, CAGLIARI)
le, sebbene i moderni mezzi abbiano da tempo abbattuto le barriere
fisiche che in passato impedivano la diusione di un così alto nume-
ro di informazioni. Tenendo conto che, come per noi lo sono quelle
del passato, anche le moderne interpretazioni sono soggette all’usu-
ra del tempo, dobbiamo onestamente ammettere che in futuro sarà
proprio la disponibilità dei dati originali e non rielaborati che potrà
permettere di costruire una nuova sintesi storica.
Ultimo aspetto da tenere in considerazione nella valutazione di
questo volume è la motivazione della ricerca che giustifica lo sforzo
che ha richiesto lo scavo di un così possente nuraghe, in origine in-
gombro del collasso al suo interno di migliaia di metri cubi di pietre.
Mi è capitato spesso di chiedere a colleghi e studiosi le motivazio-
ni della loro ricerche sul campo, soprattutto perché ritengo ferma-
mente che nel nostro tempo alla loro base dovrebbero esserci delle
domande molto importanti, altrimenti sarebbe auspicabile concen-
trare i nostri sforzi in due uniche linee: lo scavo d’emergenza per
sottrarre dall’oblio i monumenti che intralciano una modernità che
sempre più spesso vede il passato come un ingombrante e inutile
rallentamento e studiare e rendere fruibili i dati degli innumerevoli
scavi fatti da Soprintendenze e Università negli ultimi cinquant’an-
ni e che giacciono negli armadi e nei magazzini polverosi. Capita fin
troppo spesso, invece, di sentire colleghi che vorrebbero chiedere
di intraprendere l’esplorazione di siti archeologici in qualche luogo
sperduto con motivazioni spesso un po’ ingenue, qualche volta ge-
neriche e prive della necessaria progettualità culturale di ampio re-
spiro. Questa situazione è aggravata dagli Amministratori locali che
spesso premono per iniziare le ricerche, che in Sardegna si traduce
nella frase mille volta sentita: “Dobbiamo iniziare lo scavo del nostro
Nuraghe, che è più grande di quello di Barumini!”. Questi Sindaci in
molti casi credono ingenuamente che questo sia il modo di risolvere
i problemi più importanti dei loro piccoli Comuni, cioè la depressio-
ne economica e lo spopolamento che ne consegue. La chimera della
grande scoperta archeologica nella fantasia attiverebbe fantomati-
ci flussi turistici che innescherebbero spirali virtuose di occupazio-
ne e prestigio. Inutile spiegare, numeri alla mano, che altri luoghi,
magari a ridosso dell’arteria stradale principale e dove sono stati
investite enormi risorse economiche, ad oggi risultano sconosciuti
al pubblico e contano un irrisorio numero di visitatori. Quello degli

ATTI DEL IV FESTIVAL DELLA CIVILTÀ NURAGICA (ORROLI, CAGLIARI) 13
Amministratori spesso è un atto di fede, e come tale è impossibile da
smentire con la logica. La progettualità culturale è stata il punto di
forza dello scavo dell’Arrubiu, con domande scientifiche complesse
poste alla sua base fin dal principio e che lentamente trovano una ri-
sposta o una ridefinizione grazie agli elementi prodotti dalla ricerca
e dall’avanzare di quelle scienze biologiche, geologiche, fisiche, ecc.,
che solo relativamente di recente sono entrate con prepotenza negli
scavi archeologici.
Questo libro, in definitiva, ci ricorda che il nostro lavoro è quello
di dare delle risposte e di ricostruire pezzi di storia partendo da dati
materiali, di rispondere a domande complesse, spesso ponendone
delle nuove che dovranno trovare una risposta nelle generazioni fu-
ture.
Bibliografia / Bibliography
Perra M., Lo Schiavo F., Il nuraghe Arrubiu di Orroli. Fra il bastione pentaloba-
to e l’antemurale, Vol. 3, Tomo 1, Cagliari 2020

ATTI DEL IV FESTIVAL DELLA CIVILTÀ NURAGICA (ORROLI, CAGLIARI) 109
9
Oxhide Ingots 2020. New Research
Vasiliki Kassianidou
“Oxhide Ingots in the Central Mediterranean” a seminal work ed-
ited by F. Lo Schiavo, J.D. Muhly, R. Maddin and A. Giumlia Mair was
published in 2009. The editors invited colleagues to present oxhide
ingots from dierent areas – e.g. Sardinia (Lo Schiavo 2009), Cyprus
(Kassianidou 2009), the Aegean (Muhly 2009), etc – and to discuss dif-
ferent issues of interest regarding the oxhide ingots – e.g. iconogra-
phy (Papasavvas 2009), provenance studies (Hauptmann 2009) etc.–
in an eort to understand this fascinating assemblage. It is now more
than ten years since that publication. New discoveries have been
made during excavations on land and in the sea, in the Eastern Med-
iterranean and beyond. Some of these discoveries came to light just
in 2019. A new shipwreck loaded with copper ingots was found o
the coast of Antalya and the preliminary evidence (mainly the shape
of the oxhide ingots) suggests that this is earlier than Uluburun (Öniz
2019). Furthermore, excavations at the small island of Chrysi o the
south coast of Crete brought to light a settlement that was clearly in-
volved in the production of purple dye. In one of the buildings, a metal
hoard was found and it included an oxhide ingot of the earlier Buch-
holz Type I, broken in two pieces, as well as a folded saw and bronze
vessels (the discovery has been announced in a press release by the
Greek Ministry of Culture https://www.culture.gov.gr/el/Information/
SitePages/view.aspx?nID=3022). There are new excellent and com-
prehensive publications on the oxhide ingots that have been found
in the Balkans (Doncheva, 2012; Athanassov et al. 2020), in areas oth-
er than the Eastern Mediterranean (Sabatini 2016a) and of course in
Sardinia (Sabatini and Lo Schiavo 2020). A study of rock art in Sweden
identified shapes which are interpreted as depictions of oxhide ingots
(Ling and Stos-Gale 2015) while in Sardinia the discovery of a ceram-
ic pot with plastic decoration in the shape of an oxhide ingot is now
the earliest evidence for the knowledge of these artefacts and pushes
back the date to the MBA (Lo Schiavo 2018: 27).

110 ATTI DEL IV FESTIVAL DELLA CIVILTÀ NURAGICA (ORROLI, CAGLIARI)
As a result of all this new research, the distribution map of oxhide
ingots which stretched only until Sardinia to the West (see for exam-
ple Gale 1999: Fig.1) now has been expanded to show even Scandina-
via (Sabatini and Lo Schiavo 2020: Fig. 5). Chemical and microscopic
analysis on ingots and on other archaeometallurgical remains have
enabled colleagues to understand the technology of manufacturing
these extraordinary artefacts (Hauptmann et al. 2016). The isotopic
fingerprint of many more ingot fragments and metal artefacts from
Sardinia, Cyprus and beyond has been determined by Lead Isotope
Analysis and some of the results are intriguing and surprising. New
discoveries have also been made through research in the archives,
regarding old finds, especially those from Cyprus (Kassianidou
2018a; 2018b). Not surprisingly many of the latest papers on oxhide
ingots are included in the Festschri in honour of Robert Maddin and
Vassos Karageorghis edited by Alessandra Giumlia Mair and Fulvia
Lo Schiavo (Giumlia Mair and Lo Schiavo 2018).
The idea to present a paper entitled “Oxhide ingots 2020 – New
Research” where I summarise all this new data in a short paper was
clearly rather ambitious and unrealistic. So I have had to minimize
the scope of my paper and briefly present the new data on oxhide
ingots from the Cypriot perspective and I refer to the reader to Sa-
batini’s recent articles which provide a comprehensive recent bibli-
ography (Sabatini 2016b; Sabatini and Lo Schiavo 2020).
The first oxhide ingots were actually discovered at the site of Ser-
ra Ilixi on the island of Sardinia in 1857 (Lo Schiavo 2005a: 305). It was
not long aer that a similar ingot was uncovered on Cyprus. This was
found at Enkomi in 1897 during excavations by a team from the Brit-
ish Museum (Murray et al 1900: 17; Kassianidou 2009: 41). In 1904 Lui-
gi Pigorini published the ingots from Aghia Triadha and in 1906 Svo-
ronos published examples from Phaistos and Mycenae (Lo Schiavo
2005a: 305). The study of oxhide ingots, therefore, began at the turn
of the 20th century, when it was observed that ingots made of prac-
tically pure copper, of standardised shape and weight, and bearing
inscribed symbols, which were found on the islands of Sardinia, Cy-
prus and Crete, seemed to be the form in which metallic copper was
traded in the Mediterranean area during the Late Bronze Age.
Since these discoveries, the island of Cyprus was always thought
to be the most probable source of the copper metal used to produce

ATTI DEL IV FESTIVAL DELLA CIVILTÀ NURAGICA (ORROLI, CAGLIARI) 111
them. Indeed, more than a century later, excavations in the Late
Bronze Age urban centres such as Enkomi (Dikaios 1969; 1971; Muhly
1989; Kassianidou 2012; 2016; Ioannides et al. 2020) but also field-
work in the mining areas of Troodos mountains (Du Plat Taylor 1952;
Knapp and Kassianidou 2008; Kassianidou 2018c) have revealed a
booming industry which exploited the rich copper ore deposits. Fur-
thermore, archaeological finds and textual evidence, both from Cy-
prus and from abroad, tell the story of a complex society, which was
an integral part of the international network of the great powers of
the Eastern Mediterranean and beyond.
During the Late Bronze Age copper was traded in a variety of
shapes. These are best illustrated in the cargo of the Uluburun ship
which dates to the end of the 14th century BC. The ship carried bun
or plano-convex ingots, oval shaped ingots, pillow shaped ingots
and of course ox-hide ingots (Pulak 2000; Pulak 2008). Many schol-
ars including myself have argued that the oxhide ingot shape was
the trademark for Cypriot copper which was of high quality, as it was
very pure (Papasavvas 2009: 112).
Fig. 9.29. Map of Cyprus showing the pillow lava formation where copper ore de-
posits are located and Late Bronze Age sites (Produced by V. Kassianidou with digi-
tal geological data provided by the Cyprus Geological Survey).

112 ATTI DEL IV FESTIVAL DELLA CIVILTÀ NURAGICA (ORROLI, CAGLIARI)
This type of ingot appears sometime in the 16th century and it
seems to go out of use aer the 11th century B.C. It is interesting to
note that both of the chronological boundaries are not defined by
the examples found in Cyprus, most of which date to the 13th cen-
tury B.C. The earliest oxhide ingots were found in Crete (at the sites
of Ayia Triadha, Gournia and Zakro) and perhaps now in the south-
ern coast of Anatolia. The youngest or latest examples were found in
Sardinia (for a recent discussion see Sabatini 2016b). This is one of
the reasons why some had found it diicult to identify Cyprus as the
source of both the Cretan and the Sardinian ingots. Thanks to Lead
Isotope Analysis, however, we know that at least some of the ingots
from the LMIB in Crete are consistent with a Cypriot provenance
(Stos Gale 2011), while all the analysed oxhide ingots found on Sar-
dinia are consistent with a Cypriot provenance (Hauptmann 2009).
Late Cypriot I
Thanks to the excavation of the primary smelting workshop at
Politiko Phorades and the recent detailed study of the archaeome-
tallurgical assemblage from Enkomi we now know that copper was
eiciently produced already from the beginning of the Late Bronze in
the LC I period (c.1600–1450 BC), smelting technology was well devel-
oped, allowing significant quantities of copper to be extracted from
the Troodos ore deposits. The product of the process, taking place
at Phorades, was matte which then would have to be converted into
copper metal (Knapp and Kassianidou 2008). We believe that this
second stage was taking place in extensive metallurgical workshops
of Enkomi which is located on the east coast and is justifiably con-
sidered to be the most important and emblematic Late Cypriot set-
tlement. I believe that one of the products of the Enkomi workshops
were copper oxhide ingots produced both for export and for the local
market, even though no such ingots have been found in LC I deposits
in Cyprus and of course no moulds (Kassianidou 2013: 136-137).
The fact that an oxhide ingot is depicted on a cylinder seal dating
to the end of the LCI, shows that the oxhide ingots were already an
integral part of the island’s economy (Graziadio 2003: 42; Papasav-
vas 2009: 90). There is even some textual evidence for the export of
copper in Egyptian hieroglyphic texts of this period. According to the
texts the ruler of Isy, which is believed to be another form name for

ATTI DEL IV FESTIVAL DELLA CIVILTÀ NURAGICA (ORROLI, CAGLIARI) 113
Alashiya, sends diplomatic gis to the pharaoh Tuthmosis III, which
include at least 150 ingots of copper (Kitchen 2009; Ockinga 2006).
The role of Cyprus as a producer and exporter of copper is re-
vealed thanks to Lead Isotope Analysis and the work of Noel Gale
and Zofia Stos-Gale and other colleagues (Gale 1991; 1999; 2011a;
Gale and Stos Gale 2012). Current evidence indicates that Cyprus
was exporting significant amounts of copper to Crete in the shape
of oxhide ingots already since the 15th century BC, the period during
which the Phorades workshop and the workshops of Enkomi were in
full swing (Stos Gale 2011). Astonishingly it is in this earliest phase
that colleagues have dated the rock carvings depicting oxhide ingots
found in Sweden (Ling and Stos-Gale 2015), while Lead Isotope Anal-
ysis has shown that some objects dating to this period had actually
been made of copper consistent with a Cypriot provenance (Ling et
al 2014). The recent discovery of a shipwreck at Antalya, with more
than seventy oxhide ingots most of which seem to be of an early type
is extremely important and exciting (Öniz 2019). We are all eagerly
awaiting the excavation of the site and the Lead Isotope Analysis of
the ingots, which I hope will be done and published soon.
Late Cypriot II
During the following centuries, the scale of production and export
intensified significantly. For the fourteenth century BC, support for
this argument, in the form of both archaeological and textual data,
comes from overseas. Invaluable textual evidence is provided in the
well-known letters from Alashiya which were found in the archive of
Tell el Amarna. In a period spanning 15-30 years the king of Alashiya
sends a total of 897 talents of copper, corresponding to 26 tonnes of
metal to Egypt (Knapp 2011: 250-251). The discovery and excavation
of the Uluburun shipwreck showed that cargoes such as those men-
tioned in the Amarna letters were indeed realistic. The ship carried
10 tonnes of copper in various shapes of oxhide and plano-convex in-
gots (Pulak 2000; 2008: 291–292). According to LIA analysis, the most
likely source for the metal is Cyprus (Stos 2009: 172–173). Consider-
ing the probability that this was not the only ship loaded with Cyp-
riot copper that sailed at that time, then the importance of Cyprus
as a source of copper for the Eastern Mediterranean in this period is
clear.

114 ATTI DEL IV FESTIVAL DELLA CIVILTÀ NURAGICA (ORROLI, CAGLIARI)
Based on the archaeological evidence both from the island and
from overseas copper production on Cyprus reaches its peak in the
LCIIC period, which roughly corresponds to the thirteenth centu-
ry BC. It is in this period that the sole mining settlement is dated,
namely Apliki Karamallos (Du Plat Taylor 1952; Kling and Muhly 2007;
Kassianidou 2018c). Apliki lies within Cyprus’ richest mining district,
defined in the publications of the Gales as the Solea axis deposits,
which include the mines of Mavrovouni and Skouriotissa and ac-
cording to the Lead Isotope Analysis it is the mine which produced
the copper for all the oxhide ingots dating aer 1450 BC (Gale 1999;
2011a; Gale and Stos Gale 2012). In the LCIIC the workshops at En-
komi are expanded significantly, and there is evidence for copper
metallurgy in most LCIIC excavated sites (Muhly 1989; Kassianidou
2013; 2016).
It is in this period that most of the excavated oxhide ingot frag-
ments found on the island date to (Kassianidou 2009: 58). The dis-
covery of a hoard that included a large number of oxhide ingot frag-
ments near the mine of Mathiatis North is in many respects the most
Fig. 9.30. Ingot fragments from the Mathiatis Hoard: a. Cyprus Museum b. Collec-
tion of Harvey Mudd c. Collection of J.L. Bruce (Photographs V. Kassianidou).

ATTI DEL IV FESTIVAL DELLA CIVILTÀ NURAGICA (ORROLI, CAGLIARI) 115
interesting (for a recent discussion and bibliography see Kassianidou
2018a: 589–594; Kassianidou 2018b: 213–219). The hoard, which has
been identified as a founder’s hoard consisted of twentyeight oxhide
ingot fragments and twentyfive artefacts. This is the largest assem-
blage of oxhide ingot fragments ever to be found on the island in a
single deposit (Kassianidou 2018b).
Let us however return to the issue of oxhide ingots in Cyprus. Un-
like Crete where complete ingots and groups of ingots have been dis-
covered in what are believed to have been storerooms, on Cyprus ox-
hide ingots are found in fragments in buildings where there is clear
evidence of metallurgical activity or in founder’s hoards (Kassianidou
2009: 60-61). The sole possible exception may be the so-called En-
komi Ingot Hoard, the existence of which is presumed because the
two complete ingots that appeared on the antiquities market in the
1930s were said to come from Enkomi (Catling 1964: 282). Therefore,
it has been argued that they may have been found together as part
of a hoard and that the hoard included the third complete oxhide
ingot found in 1897 that is now in the British Museum (for a recent
discussion see Kassianidou 2018b: 219-221).
I, therefore, disagree with Gale’s idea that oxhide ingots were
only produced for the foreign market (Gale 1999: 117). The fact that,
Fig. 9.31. Three complete oxhide ingots found on Cyprus.

116 ATTI DEL IV FESTIVAL DELLA CIVILTÀ NURAGICA (ORROLI, CAGLIARI)
at all Late Cypriot sites save
Enkomi, oxhide ingots were
found in pieces, usually as part
of founder’s hoards is clear ev-
idence that copper oxhide in-
gots were being used in Cyprus
and were not only meant for
export. The importance of the
copper industry for the Cypri-
ot economy and society of the
Late Bronze Age is shown indi-
rectly by the need the Cypriots
felt to place it under the pro-
tection of their gods (Papasav-
vas 2009; 2011).
What do we know about the
trade of Cypriot copper in this
period? Copper from Alashiya
is mentioned in the texts of the
neighbouring kingdoms. In a
Hittite text (KBo IV 1) for exam-
ple dating to the 13th century
BC which described the magi-
cal rite sanctifying a new palace and defining the place of origin of
the materials to be used, it is stated that the copper and bronze were
brought from Alashiya from mount Taggata (Beckman 1996). Per-
haps the most important text regarding the trade of Cypriot copper
in the 13th century BC, however, comes from Ugarit. The text is ex-
traordinary as it gives us the name of a Late Bronze Age Cypriot king
for the first time. King Kusmesusa of Alashiya informs king Nigmad-
du of Ugarit, whom he addresses as his son, that he intends to send
him 33 ingots of copper (Malbran Labat 1999). If we use the rounded
number of 30kg for a talent then the king of Alashiya was intending
to send almost a ton of copper to the king of Ugarit (Kassianidou
2013: 142-143). Interestingly, the ship that sank o Cape Gelidonya,
Fig. 9.32. The ingot God from Enkomi.

ATTI DEL IV FESTIVAL DELLA CIVILTÀ NURAGICA (ORROLI, CAGLIARI) 117
dating to the end of the 13th century, was carrying a ton of copper in
the shape of oxhide and plano convex ingots also consistent with a
Cypriot provenance (Bass 1967: 52–60, 78–83; 1991: 71–73; Lehner et
al. 2020: 166; Stos 2009: 172).
Excavations on land and sea undertaken over the last forty years,
clearly show that in the 13th century BC and later, Cypriot copper in
the form of oxhide ingots, was traded throughout the Eastern and
Central Mediterranean and even beyond for example to Central Eu-
rope (Kassianidou 2013: 142; Sabatini 2016b: 26-34).
In 1991 Gale (1991: 200) estimated that a total 130 ingots had been
found in archaeological sites and since then there have been several
more discoveries of both complete and fragmentary examples that
have not only increased this number but as we have already seen
also stretched the geographical distribution of these finds. Unfortu-
nately among the new finds of the last ten years are two complete
oxhide ingots, which have appeared in the antiquities market. There
is of course no information regarding their provenance.
Late Cypriot III
According to the archaeological evidence, copper was still being
produced in Cyprus aer the thirteenth century BC: metallurgical
workshops dating to LCIII have been excavated at Kition (Stech et
al. 1985; Karageorghis and Kassianidou 1999; Ioannides et al. 2016)
and Enkomi (Courtois 1982; Muhly 1989; Kassianidou 2016; Ioan-
nides et al. 2021). In Hala Sultan Tekke the current excavations have
also found evidence for metallurgical activities in the stratum which
dates to the Late Cypriot III (Fischer and Bürge 2018: 38–42; Fis-
cher 2018). In Enkomi’s Level IIIB, which corresponds to LCIII or the
twelh century is the one which contained some of the most impor-
tant finds, such as the well-known bronze statue of the Horned God
and the Ingot God. Other important finds, dating to this period, are
a number of hoards, including the Murray/British Museum Foundry
Hoard which contained about 80 dierent objects. During this period
copper workshops were active in a number of sectors of the town
(Courtois 1982; Lagarce and Lagarce 1986).
The metal produced was still being cast into oxhide ingots and
used in this form in Cyprus: the latest oxhide ingots fragments were
found at Enkomi in a stratum dating to the end of the twelh century

118 ATTI DEL IV FESTIVAL DELLA CIVILTÀ NURAGICA (ORROLI, CAGLIARI)
BC (Kassianidou 2009: 59). Furthermore, oxhide ingots were still be-
ing exported. Some of the ingots recovered in Mycenaean sites such
as the fragment from the excavations at the site of Kanakia on the
island of Salamis (Lolos 2002) and the ingot from LHIII Emporio on
Chios date to the twelh century BC. The same is true of the quarter
of an oxhide ingot found in the sanctuary of Piazzale dei Sacelli of
Aghia Triadha, which also dates to the 12th century BC (Lo Schiavo et
al. 2013: 53).
Indeed, at this time, Cypriot copper was exported even further as
shown by the frequency of oxhide ingot fragments in Sicily, and Sar-
dinia dating mostly to the twelh and eleventh centuries BC (Sabati-
ni 2016b: 38). The hoard of oxhide ingot fragments and other bronze
artefacts in a fragmentary state found at Lipari has also been dated
to the 12th century BC. Weighing a total of 75Kg this is one of the larg-
est hoards ever found in Italy (Lo Schiavo et al. 2009:147–221). The
presence of Cypriot oxhide ingot fragments in a high number of Sar-
dinian sites, 40 by the latest count (Sabatini and Lo Schiavo 2020: 3;
Lo Schiavo 2009), distributed all over the island, as well as, the pres-
ence of Cypriot or Cypriot inspired metal artifacts and metalworking
tools have long been used as evidence to argue for a special rela-
tionship between the two islands. Russel and Knapp (2017, 5) have
questioned this narrative arguing that: “In conclusion, we suggest
that a persistent, physical presence of Cypriotes in Sardinia has not
been demonstrated; that their direct involvement and influence in
Sardinian metallurgy is unlikely; and that the current discourse of
certainty promoted by maximalist frameworks has hampered pro-
ductive debate about east–west interrelations in the Mediterranean
during the Late Bronze and early Iron Ages”.
I disagree! Even if the total amount of Cypriot copper found on
Sardinia could have reached the island as a single shipment, I never-
theless still believe that the fact that it is found is in so many dierent
sites all over the island is significant and does show that Cypriot cop-
per whether on Cypriot ships or, as Russel and Knapp have tried to
argue Sardinian ones, either directly or indirectly via Crete, did reach
Sardinia is significant quantities. Why is there this shi aer the 12th
century BC?
Well Cyprus has no gold, silver, lead or tin and yet all four metals
were important (if not essential) for Early Iron Age society of the island

ATTI DEL IV FESTIVAL DELLA CIVILTÀ NURAGICA (ORROLI, CAGLIARI) 119
just as they were in the Late Bronze Age. At the end of the Late Bronze
Age the established trading networks of the Eastern Mediterranean
were disrupted, and Cyprus was most probably cut o from her usual
suppliers for these metals. It is not, therefore, unreasonable to be-
lieve that as trading routes with the Central Mediterranean opened up
with the collapse of the Mycenaean city states, the Cypriots, who as
James D. Muhly has stated were “major players” in the metals trade
in the Eastern Mediterranean, searched for new sources to the West.
The use of Sardinian lead on Cyprus is already known from Maa Pal-
aeokastro (Zwicker 1988: 429) and Pyla Kokkinokremos (Gale 2011b;
Bretschneider et al. 2017: 82–83) and Sardinian pottery has now been
found in both Pyla Kokkinokremmos (Karageorghis 2011: 89–91) and
Hala Sultan Tekke (Bürge and Fischer 2019; Gradoli et al. 2020). I am
confident that new excavations and new Lead Isotope analysis will
reveal more evidence for contacts between the two islands.
Aer the 11th century BC the oxhide ingot shape is abandoned and
so is Cyprus’ trademark. Copper was of course still produced and
traded but not in the form of such a large size ingot and not in such
a particular and easily recognizable shape. It is no wonder that we
find ourselves in a diicult position when we try and study the extent
of trade of Cypriot copper in the first half of the first millennium BC
(Kassianidou 2014). The visibility of Cypriot copper was lost together
with the oxhide ingots.
Conclusions
The oxhide ingots have been a topic of discussion since the end
of the 19th century. Although more than a century later we know a lot
more about this extraordinary assemblage which is distributed far
and wide, there are still a number of questions which remain open
and need to be addressed. This can only be achieved with new finds
that will hopefully come to light through new excavations on land
and in the sea.
Acknowledgements
This paper was meant to be presented in the Fourth Annual
Workshop of the Nuragic Civilization, which was programmed to
take place in Orroli in April 2020. I was thrilled to receive the invita-
tion from Fulvia Lo Schiavo and Mauro Perra, and I thank them both

120 ATTI DEL IV FESTIVAL DELLA CIVILTÀ NURAGICA (ORROLI, CAGLIARI)
sincerely. I was so much looking forward to visiting Orroli and the
Nuraghe Arrubiu. But the global pandemic came and these plans
were put on hold. It was still a pleasure to take part in the online
event but my heart is set on a visit to Sardinia. I do hope that this
diicult situation will soon be over and we will be able to meet with
friends there in the near future. In closing, I would like to especially
thank Fulvia for all she has done for the study of the Nuragic culture,
Sardinian metallurgy and for revealing the relationship between our
two islands. I am honoured to have her as a friend.
Bibliography
Athanassov, B., Chernakov, D., Dimitrov, K., Krauss, R., Popov, H., Schwab,
R., Slavchev, V. and E. Pernicka 2020, A new look at the Late Bronze Age
oxhide ingots from the Eastern Balkans, in J. Maran, R. Băjenaru, S.-C.
Ailincăi, A.-D.Popescu and S. Hansen (eds.), Objects, Ideas and Travel-
ers Contacts between the Balkans, the Aegean and Western Anatolia dur-
ing the Bronze and Early Iron Age. Volume to the memory of Alexandru
Vulpe, 299-356.
Bass, G.F. 1967, Cape Gelidonya: A Bronze Age Shipwreck, Transactions of
the American Philosophical Society 57:8, Philadelphia.
Bass, G.F. 1991, Evidence of trade from Bronze Age shipwrecks, in N.H. Gale
(ed), Bronze Age Trade in the Mediterranean, SIMA 90, Jonsered 69–82.
Beckman, G. 1996, Hittite documents from Hattusa, in A.B. Knapp (ed.),
Sources for the History of Cyprus. Volume II Near Eastern and Aegean Texts
from the Third to the First Millennia BC, New York, 31-35.
Bretschneider, J., Kanta A. and J. Driessen 2017, Pyla-Kokkinokremos (Cy-
prus): preliminary report on the 2015–2016 campaigns, Ugarit-Forschun-
gen 48, 39–120.
Catling, H.W. 1964, Cypriot Bronzework in the Mycenaean World, Oxford.
Bürge, T. and P.M. Fischer 2019, Nuragic pottery from Hala Sultan Tekke:
The Cypriot Sardinian connection, Egypt and the Levant 29, 230–244.
Doncheva, D. 2012, The northern ‘journey’ of Late Bronze Age copper in-
gots, in E. Paunov and S. Filipova (eds.) HPAKΛEOYΣ ΣΩTHPOΣ ΘAΣIΩN.
Studia in honorem Iliae Prokopov sexagenario ab amicis et discipulis ded-
icata (Collection of Essays in Honour of Ilya Prokopov), Veliko Tarnovo,
671–714.
Fischer, P.M. 2018, Notes on metal production in CQ1 and CQ2, in P.M. Fis-
cher and T. Bürge, Two Late Cypriot City Quarters at Hala Sultan Tekke.
The Soderberg Expedition 2010–2017 (SIMA 147), Uppsala 489–492.

ATTI DEL IV FESTIVAL DELLA CIVILTÀ NURAGICA (ORROLI, CAGLIARI) 121
Fischer, P.M. and T. Bürge 2018, The New Swedish Cyprus Expedition 2017:
Excavations at Hala Sultan Tekke (The Söderberg Expedition). Prelimi-
nary results, Opuscula 11, 29–79
Gale, N.H. 1991, Copper oxhide ingots: their origin and their place in the
Bronze Age metals trade, in N.H. Gale (ed), Bronze Age Trade in the Med-
iterranean (SIMA 10), Jonsered, 197– 239
Gale, N.H. 1999, Lead isotope characterization of the ore deposits of Cyprus
and Sardinia and its application to the discovery of the sources of cop-
per for Late Bronze Age oxhide ingots, in S.M.M. Young, A.M. Pollard, P.
Budd and R.A. Ixer (eds), Metals in Antiquity (British Archaeological Re-
ports, International Series 792), Oxford, 100–121.
Gale, N.H. 2011a, Copper oxhide ingots and lead isotope provenancing,
in P. P. Betancourt and S.C. Ferrence (eds), Metallurgy: Understanding
How, Learning Why: Studies in Honor of James D. Muhly (Prehistory Mon-
ographs 29), Philadelphia, 213–220
Gale, N.H. 2011b, Source of the lead metal used to make a repair clamp on a
Nuragic vase recently excavated at Pyla-Kokkinokremos on Cyprus in V.
Karageorghis and O. Kouka (eds), On Cooking Pots, Drinking Cups, Loom-
weights and Ethnicity in Bronze Age Cyprus and Neighbouring Regions,
Nicosia, 107–112.
Gale, N.H. and Z.A. Stos-Gale 2012, The role of the Apliki mine region in the
post c. 1400 BC copper production and trade networks in Cyprus and the
wider Mediterranean, in V. Kassianidou and G. Papasavvas (eds), East-
ern Mediterranean Metallurgy and Metalwork in the Second Millennium
BC. A conference in honour of James D. Muhly. Nicosia 10th–11th October
2009, Oxford and Oakville, 70–83.
Giumlia–Mair, A. and F. Lo Schiavo (eds) 2018, Bronze Age Metallurgy in the
Mediterranean Islands. In Honour of Robert Maddin and Vassos Kara-
georghis (Monographies Instrumentum 56), Auteuil.
Hauptmann, A. 2009, Lead isotope analysis and the origin of Sardinian met-
al objects, in F. Lo Schiavo, J.D. Muhly, R. Maddin and A. Giumlia Mair
(eds), Oxhide Ingots in the Central Mediterranean, Rome 499–514.
Gradoli, M.G., Waiman-Barak, P., Bürge, T., Dunseth, Z.C., Sterba, J.H., Schi-
avo, F.L., Perra, M., Sabatini, S. and P.M. Fischer 2020, Cyprus and Sar-
dinia in the Late Bronze Age: Nuragic table ware at Hala Sultan Tekke,
Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 33, 102479
Hauptmann, A., Laschimke, R. and Burger, M., 2016, On the making of cop-
per oxhide ingots: evidence from metallography and casting experi-
ments, Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, 8.4, 751-761
Ioannides, D., Kassianidou V., Bonnerot O., and A. Charalambous 2016, A
preliminary study of the metallurgical ceramics from Kition, Cyprus with

122 ATTI DEL IV FESTIVAL DELLA CIVILTÀ NURAGICA (ORROLI, CAGLIARI)
the application of pXRF, Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 7,
554–565.
Ioannides, D., Kassianidou V. and G. Papasavvas 2021, A new approach to
an old material: An examination of the metallurgical ceramics assem-
blage of Enkomi, Cyprus, with the use of handheld portable X-ray flu-
orescence spectrometry, Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences
13.1, 1–17.
Karageorghis, V. 2011, Handmade burnished ware in Cyprus and elsewhere
in the Eastern Mediterranean, in V. Karageorghis & O. Kouka (eds), On
Cooking Pots, Drinking Cups, Loomweights and Ethnicity in Bronze Age
Cyprus and Neighbouring Regions, Nicosia, 87–94.
Karageorghis, V. and V. Kassianidou1999, Metalworking and recycling in
Late Bronze Age Cyprus – the evidence from Kition, Oxford Journal of
Archaeology 18, 171–188.
Kassianidou, V. 2009, Oxhide ingots in Cyprus, in F. Lo Schiavo, J.D. Muhly,
R. Maddin and A. Giumlia Mair (eds), Oxhide Ingots in the Central Medi-
terranean, Rome, 41–81.
Kassianidou, V. 2012: Metallurgy and metalwork in Enkomi: the early phas-
es, in V. Kassianidou and G. Papasavvas (eds.), “Eastern Mediterranean
Metallurgy and Metalwork in the Second Millennium BC”. A conference in
honour of James D. Muhly. Nicosia 10th–11th October 2009, Oxford, 94–
106.
Kassianidou, V. 2013, The production and trade of Cypriot copper in the
Late Bronze Age. An analysis of the evidence, Pasiphae. Rivista de Filolo-
gia a Antichità Egee 7, 133–146
Kassianidou, V. 2014, Cypriot copper for the Iron Age world of the eastern
Mediterranean, in J.M. Webb (ed.), Structure, Measurement and Mean-
ing: Insights into the Prehistory of Cyprus. Studies on Prehistoric Cyprus
in Honour of David Frankel (Studies in Mediterranean Archaeology 143),
Uppsala, 261–271.
Kassianidou, V. 2016, Metallurgy and metalwork in Enkomi – Revisiting
Porphyrios Dikaios’ excavations, in G. Bourogiannis and C. Muhlenbock
(eds), Ancient Cyprus Today: Museum Collections and New Research (SIMA
Pocket–book 184), Uppsala, 79–90.
Kassianidou, V. 2018a, Ancient copper mining, oxhide ingots and a hoard—
new data on Mathiatis from the State Archives of Cyprus, in A. Giumlia–
Mair and F. Lo Schiavo (eds), Bronze Age Metallurgy in the Mediterranean
Islands. In Honour of Robert Maddin and Vassos Karageorghis (Monogra-
phies Instrumentum 56), Auteuil, 578–598.
Kassianidou, V. 2018b, Late Bronze Age Cypriot hoards and modern collec-
tions, in L. Hulin, L. Crewe and J. M. Webb (eds.), Structures of Inequali-

ATTI DEL IV FESTIVAL DELLA CIVILTÀ NURAGICA (ORROLI, CAGLIARI) 123
ty on Bronze Age Cyprus: Studies in Honour of Alison K. South (Studies in
Mediterranean Archaeology Pocketbook 187), Nicosia, 211–226.
Kassianidou, V. 2018c, Apliki Karamallos on Cyprus: the 13th century BCE
miners’ settlement in context, in E. Ben Yosef (ed), Mining for Ancient
Copper. Essays in Memory of Beno Rothenberg (Tel Aviv University – So-
nia and Marco Nadler Institute of Archaeology Monograph Series 37), Tel
Aviv, 345–356.
Kitchen, K.A. 2009, “Alas(h)i(y)a (Irs) and Asiya (Isy) in ancient egyptian
sources”, in D. Michaelides, V. Kassianidou, R. S. Merrillees (eds.), Egypt
and Cyprus in Antiquity, Oxford, 1–8.
Kling B. and J.D. Muhly 2007, Joan du Plat Taylor´s Excavations at the Late
Bronze Age Mining Settlement at Apliki Karamallos, Cyprus. (SIMA 94:1),
Sävedalen.
Knapp, A.B. 2011, Cyprus, copper and Alashiya, in P.P. Betancourt and S.C.
Ferrence (eds), Metallurgy: Understanding How, Learning WhY. Studies
in Honor of James D. Muhly (Prehistory Monographs 29), Philadelphia,
249–254.
Knapp, A.B. and V. Kassianidou 2008, The archaeology of Late Bronze Age
copper production. Politiko Phorades on Cyprus, in Ü. Yalçin (ed), Anato-
lian Metal IV (Der Anschnitt Beihe 21), Bochum, 135–147.
Lagarce, J. and E. Lagarce 1986, Les découvertes d’Enkomi et leur place
dans la culture internationale du Bronze Récent, in J.C. Courtois, J.
Lagarce and E. Lagarce, Enkomi et le Bronze Récent à Chypre, Nicosia,
59–200.
Lehner, J.W., Kuruçayırlı E. and N. Hirschfeld 2020, Oxhides, buns, bits, and
pieces: Analyzing the ingot cargo of the Cape Gelidonya shipwreck, in A.
Gilboa and A. Yasur-Landau (eds), Nomads of the Mediterranean: Trade
and Contact in the Bronze and Iron Ages. Studies in Honour of Michal Artzy,
161–176, Leiden
Ling, J. and Z. Stos-Gale 2015, Representations of oxhide ingots in Scan-
dinavian rock art: the sketchbook of a bronze age traveller? Antiquity,
191–209. DOI: 10.15184/aqy.2014.1.
Ling, J., Stos-Gale, Z., Grandin, L., Billström, K., Hjärthner-Holdar, E. and
Persson, P.O., 2014, Moving metals II: provenancing Scandinavian
Bronze Age artefacts by lead isotope and elemental analyses, Journal of
Archaeological Science, 41, 106-132.
Lo Schiavo, F. 2005a, Oxhide ingots in the Mediterranean and central Eu-
rope. In F. Lo Schiavo, A. Giumlia-Mair, U. Sanna, and R. Valera (eds), Ar-
chaeometallurgy in Sardinia from the Origin to the Beginning of Early Iron
Age. Monographies Instrumentum 30. Montagnac: Editions Monique
Mergoil. 305-312.

124 ATTI DEL IV FESTIVAL DELLA CIVILTÀ NURAGICA (ORROLI, CAGLIARI)
Lo Schiavo, F. 2009, The oxhide ingots in Nuragic Sardinia, in F. Lo Schiavo,
J.D. Muhly, R. Maddin and A. Giumlia Mair (eds), Oxhide Ingots in the Cen-
tral Mediterranean, Rome, 225–407.
Lo Schiavo, F. 2018, Lingotti oxhide e oltre. Sintesi ed aggiornamenti nel
Mediterraneo e in Sardegna, in A. Giumlia–Mair and F. Lo Schiavo (eds),
Bronze Age Metallurgy in the Mediterranean Islands. In Honour of Robert
Maddin and Vassos Karageorghis (Monographies Instrumentum 56), Au-
teuil 15-41.
Lo Schiavo, F., Albanese Procelli R. M. and A. Giumlia-Mair, 2009, Oxhide In-
gots in Sicily, in F. Lo Schiavo, J.D. Muhly, R. Maddin & A. Giumlia Mair
(eds), Oxhide Ingots in the Central Mediterranean, Rome, 135–221.
Lo Schiavo, F., Muhly J.D., Maddin R. and A. Giumlia Mair (eds) 2009, Oxhide
Ingots in the Central Mediterranean, Rome.
Lo Schiavo, F., Sorge, E., Cucuzza, N., Gale N.H. and Z.A. Stos-Gale 2013,
An oxhide ingot fragment from Piazzale dei Sacelli, Ayia Triada (Crete)
to the National Archaeological Museum, Florence, in G. Graziadio, R.
Guglielmino, V. Lenuzza & S. Vitale (eds), Φιλική Συναυλία Studies in
Mediterranean Archaeology for Mario Benzi (British Archaeological Re-
ports, International Series 2460), Oxford, 49–60
Malbran-Labat, F. 1999, Nouvelles Donnees Epigraphiques sur Chypre et
Ugarit, Report of the Department of Antiquities, Cyprus, 121-123.
Muhly, J.D. 1989, The organisation of the copper industry in Late Bronze
Age Cyprus, in E. Peltenburg (ed), Early Society in Cyprus, Edinburgh,
298–314.
Muhly, J.D. 2009, Oxhide ingots in the Aegean and in Egypt, in F. Lo Schiavo,
J.D. Muhly, R. Maddin and A. Giumlia Mair (eds), Oxhide Ingots in the Cen-
tral Mediterranean, Rome, 17-40.
Murray, A.S. Smith, A.H. and H. B. Walters 1900, (reprinted in 1970), Excava-
tions in Cyprus (Bequest of Miss E.T. Turner to the British Museum), Lon-
don.
Ockinga, B.G. 2006, Hieroglyphic texts from Egypt,” in A.B. Knapp (ed.),
Sources for the History of Cyprus. Volume II Near Eastern and Aegean Texts
from the Third to the First Millennia BC, New York, 42–50.
Öniz, H. 2019, A new Bronze Age shipwreck with ingots in the west of
Antalya—preliminary results, Palestine Exploration Quarterly151.1,
3–14.
Papasavvas, G. 2009, The iconography of oxhide ingots, in F. Lo Schiavo,
J.D. Muhly, R. Maddin and A. Giumlia Mair (eds), Oxhide Ingots in the Cen-
tral Mediterranean, Rome, 83–132.
Papasavvas, G. 2011, From smiting to smithing, the transformation of a
Cypriot God, in P.P. Betancourt and S.C. Ferrence (eds) Metallurgy: Un-

ATTI DEL IV FESTIVAL DELLA CIVILTÀ NURAGICA (ORROLI, CAGLIARI) 125
derstanding How, Learning WhY. Studies in Honor of James D. Muhly
(Prehistory Monographs 29), Philadelphia, 59–66.
Pulak, C. 2000, The copper and tin ingots from the Late Bronze Age ship-
wreck at Uluburun, in Ü. Yalçin (ed), Anatolian Metal I (Der Anschnitt.
Beihe 13), Bochum, 137–157.
Pulak, C. 2008, The Uluburun shipwreck and Late Bronze Age trade, in J.
Aruz, K. Benzel, J.M. Evans (eds), Beyond Babylon. Art, Trade and Diplo-
macy in the Second Millennium B.C., New York, 289–385.
Sabatini, S. 2016a, Late Bronze Age oxhide and oxhide-like ingots from are-
as other than the Mediterranean: Problems and challenges. Oxford Jour-
nal of Archaeology, 35, 29–45. DOI: 10.1111/ojoa.12077.
Sabatini, S. 2016b, Revisiting Late Bronze Age copper oxhide ingots: Mean-
ings, questions and perspectives, in O. C. Aslaksen (ed.) Local and Global
Perspectives on Mobility in the Eastern Mediterranean, Athens 15–62.
Sabatini S. and F. Lo Schiavo 2020, Late Bronze Age metal exploitation and
trade: Sardinia and Cyprus, Materials and Manufacturing Processes, DOI:
10.1080/10426914.2020.1758329.
Stech, T., Maddin R. and J.D. Muhly 1985, Copper production at Kition in the
Late Bronze Age. in V. Karageorghis and M. Demas, Excavations at Kition
V. The Pre-Phoenician Levels Areas I and II. Part 1, Nicosia, 388–402.
Stos, Z.A. 2009, Across the wine dark seas... sailor tinkers and royal cargoes
in the Late Bronze Age eastern Mediterranean, in A.J. Shortland, I.C.
Freestone and T. Rehren (eds), From Mine to Microscope: Advances in the
Study of Ancient Technology, Oxford, 163–180.
Stos-Gale, Z.A. 2011, “Biscuits with ears”: a search for the origin of the earli-
est oxhide ingots, in P.P. Betancourt and S.C. Ferrence (eds), Metallurgy:
Understanding How, Learning WhY. Studies in Honor of James D. Muhly
(Prehistory Monographs 29), Philadelphia, 221–229.
Zwicker, U. 1988, Investigations of material from Maa-Palaeokastro and
copper ores from the surrounding area, in V. Karageorghis and M. De-
mas, Excavations at Maa-Palaeokastro 1979–1986, Nicosia, 427–438.