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Cyprus lay at the hub of a network of sea routes that linked the coasts and islands of the eastern Mediterranean and the Aegean Seas. In addition to its advantageous location, Cyprus possessed large reserves of copper and timber, both strategic materials in antiquity. Thus, throughout its history, Cypriot manufactured goods and raw materials found their way abroad, while foreign goods continually flowed into the island.

	Amphoras were large pottery containers used for shipping goods in bulk. The form originated with the Late Bronze Age "Canaanite jar," a large two-handled jar common throughout the eastern Mediterranean. These Cypriot amphoras and jars range from the Iron Age to the Roman period; the button-shaped bottom made them easy to stack in the angled hull of a ship, and the narrow neck prevented spills and minimized evaporation of liquid contents. Amphoras might contain various things, such as wine or oil; wider-mouth types (or pithoi - large store jars) held other foodstuffs, as well as dry goods such as pottery for shipment.
	This beautifully decorated vessel is an amphoroid krater - an amphora, in that it has two handles and stored contents, but a krater, in the fashion of the Greek decorated kraters. The style of decoration is called White Painted Ware; this piece demonstrates the intricate geometric designs which were often used. The surface appears to be multicolored due to uneven firing, so that some of the surface clay kept its original, darker color, or possibly also due to uneven application of the slip (or base coat). The decoration is all in dark brownish-black paint. This piece is about two feet tall. This piece (and those below ) would have been used in households, either to store items or foodstuffs, or as serving pieces; wine was usually mixed with water for guests, and these pots were used to mix and serve it.
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	This amphoroid krater is quite a bit later than the one above. The body has become much less rounded, rather like two cones stuck end-to-end, and is called biconical. The decoration is done in Black on Red Ware, so that the vessel was covered with a bright red or orange-red slip, then painted with black motifs. This pot has the typical sets of concentric circles (small circles nested inside each other) on its shoulders. The hole that is in its side may have come from a pick, in the process of acquiring these vessels. These is another example of Black on Red Ware shown with the Iron Age Case; there, it is a small amphora.
	This vessel is of a more unusual type, and is called Bichrome Red Ware. You will see the the biconical body shape is similar to the pot just above; this one has a higher neck and the handles are placed down on the body. The large white "X"s are part of the decoration; Bichrome Red Ware has a red slip applied, then is decorated with both black and white paint. There is also a band of tiny white dots at the base of the pot's neck, below the sets of concentric circles on the neck itself. This style did not begin until the middle of the Iron Age, and may have developed from the influence of the Phoenicians who were living on Cyprus by that period (as did many of the Iron Age Wares).

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