Αψίδα

Cyprus Through the Ages. Historical Issue

Dublin Core

Title

Cyprus Through the Ages. Historical Issue

Description

Τhe year is 10,000 BC, the hunters are roaming the land in search of prey, whence did they come, we do not know, were they the ancestors of the Neolithic dwellers of Choirokitia settlement of 7000 BC, again we do not know. But at the excavated site of Aetokremmos at Akrotiri they left behind them the bones of a pigmy hippopotamus (Phanurios minitus) which stood about 75 cm. tall and 1.5 meters in length
and the stone tools which they must have used to carve it. No other traces of their existence have been found even though palaeontological excavations have uncovered the remains of unknown animals and birds that date back some 100,000 years

The second stamp in the first row shows a stone vessel from 7000 BC excavated at the Neolithic site of Kalavassos-Tenta. Its form and quality together with other finds suggests a settlement that enjoyed other pursuits apart from their daily needs. A necklace of faience beads from Kalavassos now at the Cyprus Museum attests to this.

The third stamp depicts the circular dwellings of a Neolithic settlement at Choirokitia. Here again we do not know where the inhabitants came from or why they vanished. But a stone and shell necklace 40cm. long that they left behind tells us that their women liked to adorn themselves.

The fourth stamp depicts a woman at the time of childbirth. It originates from the site of Kissonerga-Mosphilia, a settlement from the Chalcolithic period dating back to 3000 BC. Another terracotta nude female from this period can be found at the Louvre Museum.
Τhe first stamp in the second row shows a terracotta vessel from the early Bronze Age (2400-1900 BC). What is unusual about it is that it imitates a leather or cloth vessel with a deformation caused by the weight of its contents. It is kept at the Cyprus Museum.

The second stamp shows a rare bronze skewer with a Greek inscription dated to 1000 BC.The five inscribed symbols read the word “Opheltou” probably the name of the owner. It was discovered in a tomb in Kouklia. It is kept at the Cyprus Museum.

The third stamp shows a terracotta vessel shaped like a bird with a narrow orifice on the bird’s neck and a second in its beak as an outflow opening. It dates from the Cypro-geometric period (1050-750 BC)

The fourth stamp depicts the map of Cyprus in 1718 where the cartographer Pierre Moullart-Sanson endeavoured to delimit the borders of the ancient kingdoms that existed on the island during the first millennium BC. The map is in the collection of the Bank of Cyprus Cultural Foundation.

Source

Cyprus Post, Republic of Cyprus
Κυπριακά Ταχυδρομεία, Κυπριακή Δημοκρατία

Publisher

Library of Cyprus University of Technology

Contributor

Designer: Lisa Petridou-Mala

Rights

Απαγορεύεται η δημοσίευση ή αναπαραγωγή, ηλεκτρονική ή άλλη χωρίς τη γραπτή συγκατάθεση του δημιουργού.

Relation

www.cypruspost.gov.cy

Format

jpg

Language

en

Type

Identifier

2007CS45, 2007CS46, 2007CS47, 2007CS48, 2007CS49, 2007CS50, 2007CS51, 2007CS52

Coverage

35.160417, 33.346556

Citation

Cyprus Post, Republic of Cyprus Κυπριακά Ταχυδρομεία, Κυπριακή Δημοκρατία, “Cyprus Through the Ages. Historical Issue,” Αψίδα, accessed March 28, 2024, https://apsida.cut.ac.cy/items/show/44166.