Ancient copper mining, oxhide ingots and a hoard—new data on Mathiatis from the State Archives of Cyprus

Abstract

In 1936 the Cyprus Mines Corporation (CMC), an American Company which was established on Cyprus initially to exploit the rich copper ore deposits of Skouriotissa, opened up two new mines in the area of Mathiatis village. While working at the deposit of Mathiatis North, they discovered a hoard dating to the Late Bronze Age and consisting of oxhide ingot fragments and bronze tools. The hoard was first made known in a publication by J.L. Bruce, resident director of CMC, in 1937 but it was Hector Catling who studied it closely and included it in his book “Cypriot Bronzework in the Mycenaean World” which he published in 1964. The hoard was believed to have been one of the largest ever found on the island and was also one of the first assemblages that were studied by Robert Maddin together with James D. Muhly and Tamara Stech. This was therefore one of the reasons why it was chosen as an appropriate topic for this Festschrift dedicated to Prof. Maddin and Prof. Karageorghis. The topic was also chosen because a reassessment of the archaeological finds from the mines of Mathiatis is of particular importance at this specific point in time. Mathiatis South or “Strongylos” in the local tradition is currently in the centre of a controversy. There is renewed interest in the remaining deposit, which is sufficiently rich in gold and silver to render their exploitation economically profitable by today’s standards. The aim of this paper is to present the available evidence for ancient exploitation in the area based on information collected from the State Archives of Cyprus, the archives of the Cyprus Mines Corporation and the personal archives of mining engineers. Furthermore, the current research has shown that the form given to the Mathiatis Hoard by Catling is actually not correct. Many of the artefacts he included actually came from a private collection which was purchased by the owner of CMC, Harvey Mudd, at the same time as the discovery of the Mathiatis Hoard.