Mycenaean Krater Fragments with Figural Scenes and a Seal Impression of a Hittite Prince from the Late Bronze Age Settlement of Çine-Tepecik

Abstract

Excavations at the Late Bronze Age settlement of Çine-Tepecik, located in the Çine valley (Marsyas) south of the Meander River, have revealed strong fortifications as well as storage buildings. In one of these buildings, a large number of pottery vessels as well as dense concentrations of pithos sherds, partly preserved pithoi and a fully preserved pithos were discovered. Buff ware plates, bowls with red painted decoration, large bowls and jugs reflect the local western Anatolian pottery tradition in terms of both wares and shapes. A large number of the pithoi, other vessels, metal finds and Hittite seal impressions were found scattered in the vicinity of the west wall of the building. The Mycenaean decorated deep bowls, kraters with figural scenes, and seal impressions with hieroglyphic inscriptions dating to the Hittite Empire period demonstrate that the building was involved in interregional trade and exchange and acted within the context of administrative buildings of the settlement. The subjects portrayed on two kraters reflect a tradition parallel to the ›pictorial style‹ vessels known from the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean world. Both the hunting scene and the representation of a warrior belong to the LH III B2 – LH III C early-middle period within the context of Mycenaean motifs and subjects and provide a parallel chronology.