The Linear B Inscribed Stirrup Jars
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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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1613-0723