Late Bronze Age 1600 to 1050 BC
The island’s copper deposits were its greatest source of wealth and the great demand for the metal resulted in the establishment of far-reaching contacts. Cypriot pottery is found in some quantity in Egypt and the Levant from this time. Mycenaean vessels were probably imported for the oils or ointments they contained, and their presence in Cyprus indicates the intensive commercial contact between Cyprus and the Aegean.
The Cypriot potters continued to make fine ceramics without the use of the potter’s wheel. Bowls and tankards of white slip ware were probably the fine tableware of the time.
Some vessels which were exported may have contained medicinal or hallucinogenic substances. The use of snakes as decorative motifs on many of these vessels may relate to their contents, as traditionally snakes were symbols of health
