Copper began to be mined intensively in Cyprus from the early Bronze Age. It is estimated that by the end of the Roman period 250,000 tons of copper had been extracted. Some of those ancient mines on the northern slopes of the Troodos Mountains range still exist, notably the Skouriotissa Mines, where ancient slag heaps of more than 2 million tons were found. 150,000 square kilometres of the island’s dense forests were consumed mainly in the mining and smelting process– an ecological disaster.
Cypriot copper smiths produced some of the finest work in the Eastern Mediterranean. Copper was highly prized by the successive rulers of the island – the Egyptians, Assyrians, Phoenicians, Greeks and Persians. Under the rulers of Egypt, the Ptolemies, and the Romans the mines reached their full potential. By leasing the mines to the highest bidder, the Romans exploited the copper to such an extent that by 4th century CE the mines were all but abandoned and forgotten.
Copper Oxhide Ingots
Copper, a soft but durable metal with a bright reddish colour was transported to coastal cities to be processed and traded eg Engomi and Kition. It was easily beaten and shaped into utensils, tools and weapons and by simple cold hammering cutting edges could be hardened. When tin was imported from Asia Minor and the East a more resilient alloy was produced.
Copper from Cyprus, however, was mainly destined for export in the form of oxhide shaped ingots. One such ingot displayed in the Cyprus Museum measures 31 x 53cm and weighs 37 kilos and is stamped with a written symbol.
Demonstrating the close ties of religion with the industry, at Engomi copper idols of both male and female deities standing on miniature oxhide ingots have been found. In the Phoenician settlement of Kition, copper processing workshops were even incorporated into temple complexes.
Eastern Mediterranean Trade in Antiquity
RES MARITIMAE, Cyprus and the Eastern Mediterranean from Prehistory to Late Antiquity (1993) reports that tablets from the Palace of Mari in Mesopotamia (17th century B.C.E.), mention Cyprus, also known as Alashiya, as a major copper producer.
The Amarna Tablets (14th century B.C.E), letters between the Pharoah of Egypt and the King of Alashiya, reveal that large quantities of copper were sent to Egypt as tribute and also in exchange for elephant tusks, ebony logs, gold jewellery, silver and valuable statuettes.
According to Myceneans and Cypriots in the Central Mediterranean before and after 1200 B.C.E. trade in the eastern Mediterranean during this period was brisk and complex. Pithoi and vases from Cyprus have been discovered on the islands of the Aegean, Rhodes, Crete, Sicily and Sardinia and fine Mycenean (Grecian) pottery has been found in great quantities in Cyprus. When analysed, copper ingots discovered in Sardinia showed they came from Cyprus.
The Uluburun shipwreck
A very important discovery was the Uluburun shipwreck of the late 14th century B.C.E. - sighted in 1982 off the coast of southern Turkey. Underwater excavations revealed a rich and diverse treasure trove: 355 copper ingots from Cyprus weighing over ten tons, a ton of terebinth resin (a type of amber) 149 Canaanite amphorae, 175 glass ingots, ebony logs, elephant tusks, 10 large Cypriote pithoi 130cm in height. three of which held fine Cypriote vases, a rich collection of gold and silver Canaanite jewellery scarabs and other objects in precious metals and stones from Egypt.
Because of the sheer quantity of copper on board, RES MARITIMAE notes in the Second International Symposium “Cities on the Sea” in Nicosia, Cyprus (1994) that according to some sources the ship was probably of Cypriot origin.
The production of copper continued until it was replaced by iron in the manufacturing of weapons and tools.
