Santander, February 19th-22nd 2008 - Aranzadi

Archaeomalacological Data from the Bronze Age Industrial Complex of Pyrgos-Mavroraki (Cyprus). A Non-dietary Mollusc Exploitation Case
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The pen shells cling to the substrate by byssus
filaments that were used in antiquity to produce the
sea silk (byssus), the most luxurious textile.
Many ancient textile fibres have been identified
in Pyrgos (Lentini 2004: 42) but among them,
unfortunately, no byssus fibre was found.
Pinna nobilis has the thickest nacreous stratum
among the Mediterranean shells. The Pyrgos pen
shell fragment is a worked umbonal part, smoothed
on the edges and with a hole drilled in the
centre. It was probably part of a big mother-ofpearl
pendant intended for use as an ornament or
as an utensil (e.g. large spoon, spatula) rather than
as a jewel.
The Pyrgos worked pen shell is a rare find.
Mother-of-pearl artefacts made from Indo-Pacific
shells are widespread throughout the Chalcolithic
and Bronze Age Near East and Egyptian sites (see:
Bar-Yosef Mayer 2002, among others). In contrast,
data on prehistoric Mediterranean nacre handicraft
are very scarce because of the extreme fragility of
pen shells. Many fragments of Pinna nobilis are
reported at Late Bronze Age Hala Sultan Tekké
(Demetropoulos 1979) but they were the only attestation
in Cyprus until now. Pen shell remains are
more attested in the Aegean sites. They have been
found in several Minoan centres on Crete (see:
Reese 1995, among others), in many sites of continental
Greece from Macedonia (Becker 1996) to
Laconia (Reese 1994) and in some Aegean islands
(Reese 2006, among others). Some of these findings
are smoothed on the edges and bored as the
Pinna object from Pyrgos.
A worked pen shell has been found at Lefkandi
on Euboea island (Greece). It was “worn down to
spoon or palette-shape and may have been utilized
as tool” (Reese 2006). A “quadrilateral plaque
with a central hole” and fragments with smoothed
sides from pen shells were also found in Poliochni
on Lemnos island (Karali 1999: 36) and another
Pinna bored fragment comes from Thermi on
Lesbos island (Shackleton 1968: 127). Pinna nobilis
fragments are also attested in many Bronze Age
sites of Adriatic coast of Italy (see: Wilkens 1995:
497 among others).
holed by percussion, abrasion or drilling.
The best example of the ornamental use of the
shells on the site is a necklace made up of 35
holed and water-worn shells (Fig. 4). All the shells,
from three mollusc species, were found together in
the “perfume factory” area. 32 specimens of
Gibberula miliaria artificially holed by abrasion of
the apex were used to make this jewel; some of
them have a second hole created by marine predators
or by natural erosion on the last whorl. This
is a unique attestation of the ornamental use of this
species. Other five holed Gibberula shells have
been found in other areas of the site: four come
from the “weaving room” and one was found next
to the loom weights stove. The presence of another
small gastropod shell in the “perfume factory” necklace
is even more unusual: a specimen of the
Tonnidae Malea pomum, an Indo-Pacific species.
Finally, two worked tusk shells of the scaphopod
Dentalium vulgare probably closed the necklace.
The ornamental use of tusk shell is attested in
many prehistoric Cypriot and Eastern
Mediterranean sites (see: Reese 1985, 1996,
2003, among others). The Cypriot Bronze Age
sites of Kafkallia necropolis, Maa-Palaeokastro,
Alambra and Episkopi produced Dentalium
remains (Reese 1985: 352).
5. ORNAMENTAL PENDANTS AND BEADS
Many of the shells from Pyrgos-Mavroraki are
connected with ornamental use. 101 shells of the
whole assemblage allow us to verify holing; 59 of
them show one or more holes and 54 are artificially
Figure 4. Shell necklace from Pyrgos-Mavroraki.
MUNIBE Suplemento - Gehigarria 31, 2010
S.C. Aranzadi. Z.E. Donostia/San Sebastián