The Department of Antiquities of Cyprus (Ministry of Transport, Communications and Works) has announced the completion of the 14th annual field campaign carried out by the University of Cyprus in Palaepaphos. The 2019 excavation season took place in May-June 2019; it concentrated on the plateau of Hadjiabdoulla, one kilometre east of the sanctuary of Aphrodite at Kouklia.
Credit: Department of Antiquities of Cyprus |
In the last ten years (2009-2019), the University of Cyprus team has been digging an extensive production and storage complex that occupies the north side of the plateau. To this day, they have excavated 930 square meters - about 30% of the extent of the complex - and have identified eight distinct units and circulation corridors, whose stone walls survive to almost 2 m. in height. This season’s major discovery was a small sherd that carried an inscription in black ink.
Credit: Department of Antiquities of Cyprus |
To this day, the only other royal citadel where such an archive has been identified is that of Idalion, where hundreds of inscriptions were found in the Phoenician alphabet. The Palaepaphos sherd inscription will redefine many historical facts concerning the economic management system of the Cypriot city-states.
Credit: Department of Antiquities of Cyprus |
The investigation of Unit 7 confirmed the presence of rooms above the ground floor units, whose floor was made of smooth plaster. The roofs were covered with large tiles decorated with red bands. West of Unit 7, excavations revealed an extraordinary unit of 25 sq. m., with an exceptionally well-preserved plastered floor. Unit 8 contains a mill stone basin, 1,5 m. in diameter.
Credit: Department of Antiquities of Cyprus |
Finally, the team managed to empty Unit 2 (11 sq. m.) of its content: it contained 430 kilos of purple shells (murex). This massive depot of shells covered a floor made of mudbrick tiles;the shells had been collected for secondary processing after the production of the dye. The precious purple dye was produced in various coastal centres of the Mediterranean since the Bronze Age but the stages of its industrial production remain little known.
Credit: Department of Antiquities of Cyprus |
The Department of Antiquities of Cyprus has decided to take temporary measures to protect the material remains of the Hadjiabdoulla complex. To prevent deterioration of stone, mudbrick and plastered features, the most sensitive units have been reburied. In 2020 the excavation of the complex will continue towards the East.
Source: Press and Information Office, Republic of Cyprus [August 14, 2019]
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