The Annular Rhyton/Ring Kernos, is a vessel type that is quite common in quite a few periods, and appears in a lot of the Aegean cultures (in the Bronze and Iron Ages) and in the Levant. It is well-known at Philistine sites, such as Tell es-Safi/Gath. These vessels are comprised of a circular tube on which various smaller vessels are attached. This vessel type is connected with various libation rituals in various cultures.
Here is a picture of a very sophisticated such rhyton (dating to the 7th cent. BCE) from the Heraion at Samos (which I visited last week) in the Museum in Vathy, Samos. See the various vessels that are attached the circular tube.
And here is a picture of a ring kernos from a cultic corner in the 9th cent. BCE destruction level at Tell es-Safi/Gath. While clearly it is much less sophisticated than the example for Samos, one can see quite a few similar motifs, such as the pomegranate shaped vessel and the bull’s head on the example from Safi.
This is another example of the very interesting cultural and cultic connections that exist between the Aegean and Levantine cultures.
Aren
BEAUTIFUL PIECES!