<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>In the sanctuary of Kition-<italic>Kathari</italic> (Cyprus), a building with benches, identified as a temple (“Temple 4”), is characterized in its centre by a hearth pit next to a trapezoidal stone construction, constituting “Altar E”. The platform’s surface comprises a series of little cup-holes. Once labelled “table of offerings”, it has recently been interpreted as a gaming table. Besides clay gaming stones, this area has yielded knucklebones as well as several deposits of incised scapulae linked with divination practices. This Cypriot context gives us the opportunity to explore and also to put in light the influences and interactions between different regions of the Eastern Mediterranean at the turn of the 1st millennium BC.</p>
</abstract>

In the sanctuary of Kition-Kathari (Cyprus), a building with benches, identified as a temple (“Temple 4”), is characterized in its centre by a hearth pit next to a trapezoidal stone construction, constituting “Altar E”. The platform’s surface comprises a series of little cup-holes. Once labelled “table of offerings”, it has recently been interpreted as a gaming table. Besides clay gaming stones, this area has yielded knucklebones as well as several deposits of incised scapulae linked with divination practices. This Cypriot context gives us the opportunity to explore and also to put in light the influences and interactions between different regions of the Eastern Mediterranean at the turn of the 1st millennium BC.

Games and Oracular Practices Around the Hearth: The “Table of Offerings” from the so-called Temple 4 at Kition-<italic>Kathari</italic> (Cyprus)

Board Game Studies Journal

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Games and Oracular Practices Around the Hearth: The “Table of Offerings” from the so-called Temple 4 at Kition- (Cyprus)

In the sanctuary of Kition-Kathari (Cyprus), a building with benches, identified as a temple (“Temple 4”), is characterized in its centre by a hearth pit next...

Games and Oracular Practices Around the Hearth: The “Table of Offerings” from the so-called Temple 4 at Kition-Kathari (Cyprus)

Publié en ligne: 26 avr. 2022

Pages: 95 - 128

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/bgs-2022-0004

Mots clés
Gaming table, gaming stones, hearth, altar, merchant-mariners’ context

© 2022 Jérémy Lamaze, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Games and Oracular Practices Around the Hearth: The “Table of Offerings” from the so-called Temple 4 at Kition-Kathari (Cyprus)

Publié en ligne: 26 avr. 2022

Pages: 95 - 128

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/bgs-2022-0004

Mots clésGaming table, gaming stones, hearth, altar, merchant-mariners’ context

© 2022 Jérémy Lamaze, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Mots clés
Gaming table, gaming stones, hearth, altar, merchant-mariners’ context