Beyond sealing: evidence of Middle Bronze Age stamps from the Kouris Valley, Cyprus

Abstract

A focused analysis of provenanced and unprovenanced Middle Bronze Age stamps from the Kouris Valley in Cyprus is presented in this article. Stylistic aspects are investigated, along with possible external prototypes on which they may have been based, as well as their possible multiple uses and functions. Finally, the limited evidence from Middle Bronze Age contexts in Cyprus is discussed in relation to the very different ways in which foreign influences and differing trajectories affected the move toward increasingly complex societies, and how these may have influenced sealing practices on the island.