Appetite for Destruction

Current Interpretations of Accidental or Deliberate Destructions in Bronze Age Cyprus

Abstract

Destruction processes are considered ‘time capsules of material culture’ (Driessen 2013) as they freeze a site at one moment of its history providing key evidence for interpreting the archaeological record and reconstructing social, political, cultural and ideological circumstances. By focusing on selected case-studies, this paper aims at briefly discussing existing evidence of destruction events in Bronze Age contexts in Cyprus, and at a preliminary presentation of new research data resulting from ongoing interdisciplinary analyses at Middle Bronze Age Erimi.