Bowl with Cypro-Minoan inscription

Cypriot hemispherical bowl made of hammered copper ("Kalottenschale" type). Three signs of the Cypro-Minoan script have been incised below the rim. The Cypro-Minoan script, thus named because of its similarity with Minoan Linear A, appeared in Cyprus circa 1500 BC, at a time of intense trade activities which must have created increasing bureaucratic demands. The script may have been imported from Crete and adapted to the needs of the ancient Cypriot language. Unfortunately, it has not been deciphered so far. Cypro-Minoan inscriptions have also been found on clay tablets and a silver bowl at Ugarit, Syria. The Cypro-Minoan script was replaced in the 11th c. BC by the Cypro-syllabic script, in which elements of the former were merged with Mycenaean Linear B. Bronze hemispherical bowls were relatively common grave goods in the Late Cypriot period. A Late Cypriot statuette of an enthroned god from Enkomi holds a similar bowl, suggesting that this metal vases may have had a ritual function.