From Mason’s Mark to Maker’s Mark Cypriot Mason’s Marks in their Aegean and Levantine Contexts

Abstract

Engraved signs begin to appear in the Aegean, mostly on worked stone blocks, as early as the Middle Bronze Age (ca. 1900-1700 BCE) in Crete. Their numbers proliferate in the Late Bronze Age on Crete, and they appear in smaller numbers in the Aegean islands and Mycenaean mainland. Although they have been conventionally termed “mason’s marks” in the literature, they did not function as such in the traditional sense in terms of aiding in the placement of blocks in the construction of a building. Their varying contexts, multiple designs, and varied visibility within a building have resulted in divergent interpretations linked to their symbolic significance, religious meaning, or to the social ..