The Aegean Meets Europe
Two Ornaments with Solar Motifs from Mycenaean Kefalonia (Greece)
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 7988948 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Christina Souyoudzoglou-Haywood (0000-0003-2368-1219, University College Dublin, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 29 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 1-19 |
| Publication date | 2026-01-08 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | European Journal of Archaeology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1461-9571 • E-ISSN: 1741-2722 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/eaa.2025.10031 |
| OpenAlex | W7118639804 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 18 |
This article presents an analysis of two sheet gold ornaments of the Mycenaean post-palatial period (twelfth–eleventh centuries bc ) found in two cemeteries on the island of Kefalonia. These unusual ornaments bear solar symbols of Nordic and central European type, the closest parallels being those on the contemporary gold discs from votive deposits on the Italian peninsula. The study considers the technological, morphological, and iconographic particularities of the Kefalonian ornaments and how they differ from each other and from other finds. The ornaments’ use in a funerary context is examined against Aegean practices, burial rites, and ideology. The examination of their iconographic and conceptual antecedents in the Aegean cultural sphere reveals that the exogenous input in their creation—linked to transcultural exchange within the Adriatic—was matched by indigenous engagement with aspects of cosmology
Context (archaeology · Indigenous · Ornaments · Parallels · Period (music · Ancient Mediterranean Archaeology and History · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Cultural Heritage Materials Analysis
The cultural biography of things
Nought may Endure but Mutability
Islands in the stream
Anthropomorphised warlike beings with horned helmets
Late Cypriot Imports to Italy and their Influence on Local Bronzework
The Lord of the Gold Rings
Early Chariots and Religion in South-East Europe and the Aegean During the Bronze Age
Breakthrough of the Nordic Bronze Age
Feasting at Roca
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |