A Danish police officer, who volunteered for the United Nations Peacekeeping
Force in Cyprus, spent his spare time documenting traditional
technologies, especially those related to handmade pottery, farming and
food. Knud Jensen recorded over 60 pitharia, immense jars for fermenting
wine, produced for centuries until 1972. He speculated that the names
incised on jar shoulders, prior to firing, held information about the
history of Cyprus. Detective Jensen managed to trace century-old jars
back to the craftspeople who made them and to their descendants living
in Lazania and other Troodos foothill villages. His findings, combined
with more recent ethnoarchaeological research by the author, provide
practical templates to: reconstruct the ancient ceramics industry;
assess the markings on archaeological pottery; evaluate artefact reuse;
identify sources of variation in the work of craft specialists past and
present; acknowledge itinerant male and female potters; and explain
the multiplicity of traditional and ancient regional terms for essential
household items.
by Gloria London.
Printed in Nicosia 2020.
240 pages. ISBN: 978-9925-7455-5-5. Hard cover.
