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The Linear B Inscribed Stirrup Jars


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Type

Article

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Authors

Judson, Anna Penelope  ORCID logo  https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9475-9004

Abstract

Transport stirrup jars – so-called because of the shape formed by their handles and false neck – are a common type of Mycenaean pottery:¹ used to transport and store liquid commodities, usually assumed to be olive oil,² they are found throughout the central and eastern Mediterranean. A small sub-group of these carry painted inscriptions in the Linear B script, mainly consisting of personal and/or place names.³ These inscribed stirrup jars (ISJs), dating from around the LM IIIB period (late 14th – early 12th centuries B.C.), are so far only certainly attested on Crete and the Greek mainland.⁴ They form the only significantly-sized group of Linear B inscriptions found on a medium other than the more typical clay tablets:⁵ the next largest group, of inscriptions painted on domestic pottery, includes only ten examples, and it is difficult to judge how far these form a coherent group with a shared function.⁶ Not only that, but the ISJs are the most geographically widespread type of Linear B inscriptions, found both in and outside.

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Keywords

4303 Historical Studies, 43 History, Heritage and Archaeology

Journal Title

Kadmos

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

0022-7498
1613-0723

Volume Title

52

Publisher

Walter de Gruyter GmbH
Sponsorship
This work was supported by the Arts and Humanities Research Council [grant number AH/J500094/1].