Guide to the collection
The All objects link in the left hand menu returns the
entire catalogue in order of Tombs 1-100, followed by objects from
the Foundry hoard, Post-Bronze Age occupation of the site, surface
finds, and finds from unknown locations.
The majority of the material in the collection was excavated in
1896, with some additional objects purchased in 1898-1900. Although
a proportion of the material was published in the volume
Excavations in Cyprus (1900), and certain classes of
objects have been included in the catalogues of the Department of
Greece and Rome at the British Museum or studied by later
researchers (see bibliography), some of the material remained
unregistered, awaiting conservation or study. All the material held
in the stores is now presented in a searchable format, with
photographs, dimensions and descriptions.
The British Museum’s excavation was conducted
prior to the development of modern methodologies and excavation
techniques. Little attention was paid to the deposition of the
finds or to the human remains associated with the objects and the
aim of the expedition was to collect a ‘representative sample’ of
objects from the tombs, and particularly objects that were worthy
of display (see Steel 2001). Value judgements were often placed
upon the importance of different objects according to their
aesthetic qualities, rather than their archaeological value. Local
ceramics, particularly undecorated vessels, were considered to be
‘primitive’ or ‘coarse’ and not accorded the same care as the
highly decorated finds or objects made from valuable raw materials.
Therefore, it must be stressed that the objects collected do not
represent the complete contents of the tombs, except in rare cases
which are noted in the discussion of each tomb. Accounts of fully
excavated tombs from Enkomi can be found in Gjerstad et al. 1934,
Dikaios 1969-1971, Courtois 1981 and Lagarce 1985.
In addition, many of the tombs had already been disturbed and
looted but the 1896 notebooks rarely state which ones (Tatton-Brown
2003). Despite this, some of the tombs excavated in 1896 remain the
most intriguing and the wealthiest known from the site. Tomb 93 is
exceptional in the amount of gold and unusual imported valuables,
Tombs 19 and 66 are also particularly wealthy. The Foundry Hoard is
also an extremely important assemblage, affording a rare glimpse
into the importance of bronze artefacts and their use and
recycling.