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The Department of Antiquities,
Ministry of Transport, Communications and Works, announces the completion of
an archaeological and geophysical survey in the area of Pera Oreinis in
October 2020 under the direction of Dr. Matthias Recke (University of
Frankfurt) and field Director Dr. Philipp Kobusch (University of Kiel). The
aim of the fieldwork was to locate the Sanctuary of Apollo at Fragkissa.
The sanctuary of Apollo at Frangkissa, in the
vicinity of ancient Tamassos, can be considered one of the most important
sanctuaries discovered in Cyprus to date, due to the rich finds of sculptures
It was subject to a rescue
excavation in 1885 by the German archaeologist Max Ohnefalsch-Richter.
However, the exact location was subsequently forgotten and has been sought in
vain by various archaeologists.
Recently, archival studies
succeeded in restricting the location of the sanctuary to a distinct valley
south of Pera Oreinis. Through an intensive survey of this valley, it has now
been possible to locate the exact place of the sanctuary with certainty. The
survey revealed a high concentration of sherds, but also fragments of ancient
sculptures and terracotta figurines in a relatively narrowly defined area. A
geophysical survey by GPR (Ground Penetrating Radar) carried out in
cooperation with the University of Cyprus under the direction of Apostolos
Sarris confirmed these findings. According to this, deep structures in the
ground can only be found in the part of the valley that was also prominent in
the archaeological survey.
(Fig. 2 Fragment of a shoe, found in 2020, compared to a find from the 1885’s excavation)
A preliminary analysis of the finds showed
that the area had been occupied since the Iron Age and was used throughout
the Archaic, Classical and Hellenistic periods. The numerically smaller finds
from the Roman and Byzantine era are considerably more eroded and probably
originate from a settlement of this period further downstream, which is
already known. The finds from earlier periods, however, which can be ascribed
to the use of the sanctuary of Apollo, are relatively well-preserved. They
probably originate from the debris of the 1885 excavations and were
overlooked at that time. In particular, the numerous fragments of limestone
figures and large-size terracotta statues prove that these are the remains of
an ancient sanctuary, as corresponding finds in settlements and necropoleis
are uncommon. In fact, the types of figurative finds correspond exactly to
the material excavated in 1885 which is now in museums in Canada, Great
Britain, Ireland and possibly even Russia. Only a small part of the finds from
1885 have remained in Cyprus and are now in the Cyprus Museum in Nicosia,
including the famous “Colossus of Tamassos”. The characteristic finds are
small chariots, riders and warrior figures in terracotta and large hollow
terracotta statues of up to life size depicting the donators. This is shown
here with a fragment of a shoe in original size compared to a find from the
earlier excavation of 1885 in the Cyprus Museum Many draped
figures of votaries were also made of limestone. Besides these human figures,
many fragments especially of horses (or riders on horses) have been found.
Confirmation that the site of
the important sanctuary of Apollo has been identified in this area was also
provided by the location of an almost 15-metre long trial trench, which can
be traced back to the activities of 1885 and which is also mentioned in the
old excavation reports. The trench, which was exactly 2 feet wide, had the
purpose of exploring the adjacent area in order to determine the exact extent
of the sanctuary. In fact, remains of ancient double-shell masonry can be
seen here, which must have been part of the architecture of the sanctuary. A
detailed investigation of the area as part of an archaeological excavation is
planned for spring 2021.
EH/ECHR
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