Bamboula “A Tomb of the Early Classical Period” Benson (photos)

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fifth century, B.C.

In the late Bronze Age, the center of life and activity in the area of Kourion was the site of Bamboula, on the outskirts of which Tomb 4 lies. A certain amount of continued use of the site after the decline of the Bronze Age town is attested by a few tombs excavated by the British Museum in 1895, and later by the University Museum. In those cases where it is possible to control the dating of the first-mentioned tombs, there is nothing later than Cypro-Archaic I. The latest tombs excavated by the University Museum are Cypro-Geometric I. It would thus appear that very little was going on in this area during the Classical period. Furthermore, the contents of Tomb 4 suggest that what little activity there may have been was out of touch with contemporary Greek influences. In Area D - the closest to Tomb 4 - excavated by Daniel, sherds of Greek black glaze (of all periods) constituted a little under 1% of the total of topsoil sherds. About the same percentage applies to Trench 20 (Area E) and to the Circuit Wall (Area A). Yet even at Site B of the British excavators, below the "acropolis" of Kourion, only a few Classical tombs were found, and very little Attic pottery of that date. The most certain archaeological evidence of Greek connections in sixth and fifth century Kourion will be the terracotta figurines and the bronzes from the Sanctuary of Apollo, when published. But it may be fairly assumed that direct contacts with contemporary Greek culture were not very extensive.

The pottery of Tomb 4 underlines this statement by its close stylistic connections with Palestinian wares. The culture of the people who made use of Tomb 4 appears to have been dominated by the East, not the West.