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The ‘Tiryns Treasure’ as a source for understanding post-palatial long-distance contacts and ceremonial practices
Maran, Joseph
2024
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e-ISBN
978-88-5511-499-8
Abstract
This contribution focusses on the disputed dating of the ‘Tiryns Treasure’ as well as on the social practices into which its main components may have been integrated, the norms and values of the groups of people using them, and the long-distance contacts of the Tirynthian community both at the time of the hoard’s deposition and the segment of the post-palatial period preceding it. The subphase LH IIIC Late is proposed as the most likely date of deposition of the hoard, and attention is drawn to the hitherto unrecognized presence of amber beads of both the ‘Tiryns’ and ‘Allumiere’ type in the hoard, which confirms a deposition of the ‘Tiryns Treasure’ not earlier than Final Bronze Age 1 in Northern Italy. It is argued that the use and deposition of the objects of the hoard were closely related to elite ceremonial practices carried out in nearby Megaron W and its courtyard. These practices referred to the palatial period past as much as they contributed to the introduction of novel objects and ideas. They also helped fuse long-term local traditions with new material and immaterial features obtained through long-distance contacts. The deposition of valuable objects in the hoard as well as their partial mutilation before deposition ensured their elimination from any future ritual use. It is therefore concluded that, when Megaron W was abandoned towards the end of LH IIIC, the objects that had been used in and around it in the decades before may have been buried in some kind of closure-ritual.
Source
Joseph Maran, "The ‘Tiryns Treasure’ as a source for understanding post-palatial long-distance contacts and ceremonial practices", in: Borgna, Elisabetta (a cura di / edited by), "Natura e funzione della deposizione del metallo tra Europa e Mediterraneo: ripostigli della tarda età del bronzo / Nature and function of bronze deposition between Europe and the Mediterranean: Hoards of the Late Bronze Age", (Broadening Horizon 5, Civilizations in contact ), Trieste, EUT Edizioni Università di Trieste, 2024, pp. 121-146
Languages
en
Rights
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
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