Frying pans are ceramic objects of unknown purpose from the archaeological strata called Early Cycladic II in the Aegean islands and the Early Helladic I and II elsewhere in the Aegean. There has been much speculation over the mysterious purpose of what are clearly prestige goods. Characteristically they are highly decorated, and much care has gone into their making. They are found all over the Aegean but are not common: around 200 have been unearthed to date. The Cyclades, from the Greek Κυκλάδες, (circular, modern Greek Kykládes; see also List of traditional Greek place names) form an island group south-east of the mainland of Greece. ... The Aegean Sea. ... The Helladic is a period of ancient Greek Civilization. ...

They somewhat resemble a skillet (hence the name 'frying pan') in that they have a diameter of 20 to 28 centimeters, a raised lip and a handle. However, all the decoration tends to be on the outside rim and on the 'bottom'. The decoration is stamped or incized. The handles vary a great deal (more so on the mainland). It is worth noting that some think the term 'handle' may be slightly misleading as some of the handles seem more decorative than utilitarian. They are usually found in graves, although as there haven't been very many found, and they are very uncommon grave goods, this does not go far in indicating a specific purpose.

Two types of "frying pans" are distinguished. One the so-called "Kampos type" is Earlty Cycladic, characteristically with its straight side decorated with incised lines framing spirals; its rectangular handle with a crossbar; the main circular field commonly decorated with incised running spirals around a central star (ref. Dartmouth), The other is the "Syros type" with a concave undecorated side, and a two-pronged handle; decoration of main circular field with stamped concentric circles or spirals, often accompanied by incised depictions of longboats or female genitalia (ref. Dartmouth)

Common Patterns and Designs

• large stars with circles or bands inside
• triangular patterns in rows (very common, called "kerbschnitt")
• concentric circles
• wheel-like patterns
• many small spirals grouped together
• ships (with paddles and fish banners)

Proposed functions of "Frying Pans"'

Proposed functions of "frying pans" vary widely, but generally speaking these are some of the more common theories (although that is not to say that they are widely accepted):

• Plates
• cooking utensil (i.e. an actual frying pan)
• mirrors
• drums
• a specifically religious or ritualistic object
• libation vessel

The plate interpretation is fairly neutral, as a plate could be anything from a decorative object to a religious one. It is unlikely that they are actual cooking utensils, as there is no signs of food or fire, and as previously stated, they are usually found in burial contexts. That they were mirrors is a much more interesting interpretation- ceramics are quite obviously nonreflective, but it has been suggested that filled with water or oil, they could function as a mirror. The drum theory is fairly unlikely as one would expect a drum to have holes around the edges so that the hide could be stretched across it. Furthermore, with many of the handles found on these objects, it would be very hard to hold in the style suggested. The problem with the religious/ritualistic explanation is that it is the old standby of archaeology to explain anything that is not obvious. However, given that they are found in a burial context, even if they did have a mundane every day purpose, the ones we find most likely did have a deeper symbolic meaning.

factors in intepretation A few things to keep in mind about the intepretations:

• The decoration is on the side we consider to be the bottom (when one thinks of them as frying pans)
• There is regional variation, especially in the handles, but there is a certain amount of consistancy
• they have a 'storage' shape, in that they could, in theory, hold something (the raised lip, no holes in the bottom, etc)
• they are intricately decorated, which took some time, a clue to a certain level of importance
• last but not least, the burial context. This once again indicates a certain level of importance.

References

• John E. Coleman, 1985. "Frying Pans of the Early Bronze Age Aegean" American Journal of Archaeology 89 pp 191-219

Includes a full scholarly bibliography.

• http://projectsx.dartmouth.edu/classics/history/bronze_age/lessons/les/4.html#16 (Dartmouth College) Early Cycladic pottery]