Early Cycladic Stamp Impressions from Therasia: Considering Sealing Practices in the Cyclades and the Emergence of Writing in the Aegean

CYCLADIC SEMINAR
ΤHE ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY AT ATHENS, 22 PANEPISTIMIOU STREET

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Kostas Sbonias
Professor of Prehistoric Archaeology at the Ionian University, Department of History

Early Cycladic Stamp Impressions from Therasia: Considering Sealing
Practices in the Cyclades and the Emergence of Writing in the Aegean

Friday, 28 March 2025, 7 P.M.

The hybrid lecture will be held in English.
Link: https://ionio-gr.zoom.us/j/91652662757

The seminar is organized by Marisa Marthari

The lecture contributes to the understanding of Early Bronze Age sealing practices in the Cyclades, focusing on recent finds from Therasia. Systematic excavations by the Ionian University, the University of Crete, and the Ephorate of Antiquities for the Cyclades (2014-2022) have revealed the remains of a settlement inhabited from the transitional EC I/II period until the end of the Middle Bronze Age. The deposits from the Minoan-period eruption later partially sealed the remains of the abandoned site, contributing to the good preservation of its architecture. The presentation discusses two seal impressions on a jar handle from an Early Cycladic II context (Fig.1). One aligns with the broader Aegean glyptic tradition, while the second represents the earliest evidence associated with developments tied to the broader context of script formation in the Aegean. It will be presented in detail: first the excavation context, second the Cycladic provenance of the vase and third the broader interpretative context of seal impressions on vessels and other artefacts in the Cyclades. Finally, the emergence of writing in the prehistoric Aegean in relation to glyptic practices will be discussed (Fig. 2).