Research Information System
in: ALALAKH AND ITS NEIGHBOURS, K. Aslıhan Yener,Tara Ingman, Editor, Peeters Publishers , Paris, pp.419-433, 2020
This paper deals with connections between Cyprus and Alalakh in the Middle and Late Bronze
Ages in terms of different types of evidence (textual, archaeological and archaeometric), as they
provide complementary information. These projects and ongoing studies are presented with
some preliminary results. Although written documents with reference to Alašia are few in
number, they show that people from Alašia were living in Alalakh by at least Level VII.
Pottery is the main source of information for this article, because it is plentiful and informative.
It is being studied by means of typological, stratigraphical and contextual criteria. In this
respect, the initiation, phases and end of connections with Cyprus can be examined accordingly.
Moreover, archaeometric analysis (both elemental and mineralogical) have been conducted
in order to trace back to the raw material from the finished product. One of the aims
of archaeometric analysis is to define the characteristics of clay through instrumental analyses,
in addition to archaeological definitions. Another important aim is to contribute to provenance
studies with respect to defining the regions in Cyprus from which the clay sources and
other materials came.*