Internet Archaeology. 9 Knappett. 6

6.0 Conclusions

6.1 What has the study shown?

This study has presented evidence to show that the RLWm ware found at the site of Kilise Tepe was not locally produced. Its source area, however, is as yet unclear. On the one hand, the petrological data are not inconsistent with a source on Cyprus, particularly the western part of the island in the area of the Mamonia complex (with low-grade metamorphism). Yet there are many other areas also characterised by low-grade metamorphism, for example in Anatolia, although our knowledge of the geology of such areas is lacking in detail. On the other hand, the typological evidence, in particular the range of shapes and the ware's early occurrence in MBA, suggests that RLWm ware is not all that exotic to Kilise Tepe, which might mean that a source in Anatolia is more likely than one in Cyprus (of course, there is still a rather remote possibility that there was more than one source). The idea that RLWm ware has its origin in Anatolia, and indeed Cilicia, is not new, but in this study it is to some extent underwritten by new archaeological and petrological data.

6.2 What next?

Further petrological study, in combination with chemical analysis, obviously needs to be conducted on RLWm ware from as many other sites as is feasible. Some initial steps have been made in this direction with the analysis of a small number of samples from Memphis-Saqqara in Egypt, and petrographically they are incredibly similar to the Kilise Tepe material (Figure 6, c-d). Also, potting resources ought to be sampled from a wide range of locations in Cyprus, Cilicia, north-west Syria, and Egypt. But if we wish to identify the origin or origins of RLWm ware, this sort of materials analysis must always go hand in hand with studies of typology and style. Ultimately such work may further our understanding not only of the character of long-distance exchange, but also of the shifting patterns of political and economic power between Egypt, Anatolia, the Levant and Cyprus during the LBA.