Three Bone Artefacts from Room R.23 of the East Portico at the Agora in Nea Paphos, Cyprus
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.12797//SAAC.29.2025.29.07Keywords:
amulet, bone artefacts, Cyprus, Late Hellenistic period, Nea PaphosAbstract
In 2011-2019, during the research of the Jagiellonian University’s expedition at the Agora of Nea Paphos (Cyprus), more than 50 artefacts made of bone and related materials were discovered. This article presents an analysis of three objects unearthed in room R.23, located in the central part of the East Portico. This small assemblage, dated to the Late Hellenistic period, consists of a protective amulet depicting a mano fica and a phallus, a perforated knucklebone and a ring. Although the interpretation of this find – which also partially considers the coins found in the same context – remains uncertain, the possibility that these artefacts constituted a set of personal items should not be overlooked.
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