General Information

This entry is based on the pottery assemblage of Erimi Laonin tou Porakou (Kouris Valley) and is based on the work of Webb (2017) on pottery from 2008-2014 excavations and observations by Muti on the materials from the 2016-2018 campaigns. The majority of vessels retrieved from the settlement and cemeteries is in a local variant of the ubiquitous Red Polished ware. Other MC sites and tombs have been excavated in South Coast, but the Erimi pottery offers perhaps the more extensive published assemblage on which to base considerations on local ceramic production, and the Erimi occupational sequence covers the entire MC period. Local fabrics are
characterised by a medium gritty fabric, generally hard-fired. Clays are igneous, probably primary, and red, reddish brown or orange-brown in colour (2.5YR5/6; 5YR5/4, 5YR5/6).

Medium to many inclusions of small and medium sizes are often visible. These are sub-angular and generally black, white or grey, light brown, and red/brownish red (possible grog) in colour. Voids can be observed with less frequency. Slips are medium and lustrous and show similar colours of fabrics. In contrast to earlier South Coast pottery, the MC pottery from Erimi does not present extensive mottling. Vessels may have a darker core. In terms of vessel forms, more variety has been recovered from the settlement, while tombs have yielded a more restricted selection of types. Quantities of open and closed vessels are comparable. Large shapes are more common in the settlement, where the incidence of pithoi is particularly remarkable. Cooking pots and pans have been categorised as Red Polished Coarse.

Local fabrics are characterised by a medium gritty fabric, generally hard-fired. Clays are igneous, probably primary, and red, reddish brown or orange-brown in colour (2.5YR5/6; 5YR5/4, 5YR5/6). Medium to many inclusions of small and medium sizes are often visible. These are sub-angular and generally black, white or grey, light brown, and red/brownish red (possible grog) in colour. Voids can be observed with less frequency. Slips are medium and lustrous and show similar colours of fabrics. In contrast to earlier South Coast pottery, the MC pottery from Erimi does not present extensive mottling. Vessels may have a darker core. In terms of vessel forms, more variety has been recovered from the settlement, while tombs have yielded a more restricted selection of types. Quantities of open and closed vessels are comparable. Large shapes are more common in the settlement, where the incidence of pithoi is particularly remarkable. Cooking pots and pans have been categorised as Red Polished Coarse.

Red Polished Punctured, Red Polished III Punctured, Red Polished Episkopi, Red Polished IV South Coast, Red Polished IV South Coast Punctured