Composite Ritual Vases from Cyprus and Syria-Palestine

Composite vases, vessels with multiple bodies and/or spouts, are known from most cultures of the ancient Mediterranean, especially in Bronze Age Cyprus. They are commonly, but not universally, associated with religious rituals. The goal of this dissertation is to test this association through analysis of the contexts from which composite vases have been recovered and through symbolic exegesis of morphology and function. Composite vases are most often encountered in burials. Three Bronze Age cemeteries, Bellapais-Vounous sites A and B on Cyprus and Bab edh-Dhra in Jordan are analyzed. The unequal distribution of composite vases in these cemeteries-as demonstrated by factors including spatial distribution, the wealth of associated tomb offerings, tomb size, the gender of occupants, and co-occurrence with other ritual objects-suggest that ownership of these vases was limited to specific social groups in both Cyprus and Palestine. Symbolic exegesis of composite vases focuses on the performative value, i.e., how they would function in a given ritual. The manner in which these vases act to separate and/or integrate their contents suggest that they may be associated with rites of passage, three stage rituals which create social identity through rites of separation, liminality, and integration. The contextual associations between composite vases and liminal spaces such as burials, gates and other passageways, and grain storage areas also support this conclusion. Therefore, composite vases should be considered as ritual objects, and their presence in archaeological contexts should be interpreted as an indication of ritual activity.