General Information

Examples of most of the table vessels found on the Hill of Agios Georgics occur in NE Cypriot Hellenistic Metallic Slip ware: plates with hanging rim, saucers with offset and rolled rim, ledge rim, everted rim, incurved rim, and hemispherical bowls, including both West Slope and offset lip types, skyphoi with upraised handles, lids with West Slope decoration, kyathoi, and olpai. An unslipped version of this ware may have also been used for unguentaria. The workmanship of vessels in this ware is very good: walls are thin and even, surfaces smoothed and sometimes pared, rims and feet are neatly trimmed. Small finishing details appear consistently, such as thinly tooled grooves on the inside or outside of rims or walls.

In addition to its ubiquity at the Hill of Agios Georgios, NE Cypriot Hellenistic Metallic Slip ware also occurs at the tombs of Agioi Omologites, Kafizin, Kyra and Site CS1503 (Mitford 1980, 9); therefore, we tentatively suggest that this ware be identified as local to northeastern Cyprus, and perhaps even to the Nicosia region.

The paste is fine-grained, very smooth and dense, hard-fired, and ranges in colour from a clear, bright light brown (5YR 7/6 to 7.5YR 7/6) to dusky pink-brown (10R 5/4 - 2.5YR 5/4). The slip is fairly to fairly shiny reddish brown, with a decidedly metallic sheen, and well bonded. It adheres strongly to the wall, is generally well preserved, and has not flaked much. On some vessels, the exterior is only semi-slipped; on others the exterior is fully covered. In all cases, application was by dipping, with thin fingerprints visible around the foot, though there are a few dribbles and the lower edge of the slip is generally even and neat.

Nicosia, Agios Georgios (Cyprus/Western Mesoria)

Horbat Zefat 'Adi (Israel/Northern Coastal Plain)