The Linear B Inscribed Stirrup Jars

Anna P. Judson Kadmos 52 (2013) [2014], 69-110

From the introduction

Transport stirrup jars – so-called because of the shape formed by their handles and false neck – are a common type of Mycenaean pottery: used to transport and store liquid commodities, usually assumed to be olive oil, they are found throughout the central and eastern Mediterranean. A small sub-group of these carry painted inscriptions in the Linear Β script, mainly consisting of personal and/or place names. These inscribed stirrup jars (ISJs), dating from around the LM IIIB period (late 14th – early 12th centuries B.C.), are so far only certainly attested on Crete and the Greek mainland. They form the only significantly-sized group of Linear Β inscriptions found on a medium other than the more typical clay tablets: the next largest group, of inscriptions painted on domestic pottery, includes only ten examples, and it is difficult to judge how far these form a coherent group with a shared function.