Filenews 2 July 2021 - by Dora Christodoulou
The hill of Fabrika, on the road leading from the centre of Paphos to the coastal front of the city, was in antiquity the Acropolis of Paphos. This results from the ongoing excavations in the area for 12 years by a French archaeological mission, according to the head of the mission, Dr Claire Balandier, professor of Archaeology and Ancient Greek History at the French University of Avignon. Balandier even described the quarries that existed in antiquity on this hill as the most important that have been discovered, after those in Petra, Jordan and Sicily. Now, more and more visitors come to Paphos informed about the great archaeological importance of this area, while also from the point of view of the scientific community, the hill of Fabrika occupies a dominant position in studies and excavation developments.
The excavation proved, as announced by the head of the mission and the members of the Paphos Municipal Council in a special presentation last September, that a room with mosaic flooring that came to light belonged to a building of the Hellenistic period and that it was supplied by a clay pipe that is still in very good condition. This building appears to have been partially destroyed by later Roman-era water supply projects, which included the construction of a pipeline and reservoirs, he explained.
Claire Balandier also said that the last pre-pandemic excavations, in early 2020, focused on the Roman house - which has been excavated since 2010 - and during those works a large square area was found, in the centre of which there was a small reservoir. Under these elements, the excavation search located the base of the Hellenistic quarry. Two more rooms also came to light on the south side of the site, while an area was also searched in the north-eastern corner of the inner courtyard.
The importance of the work of foreign excavation missions in the city, pointed out the Mayor of Paphos.
Phaedon Phaedon stressed that in Paphos a mission of the Polish University of Krakow led by the Greek-born Professor Eudoxia-Papoutsis-Wledyka, which has been carrying out excavation work in the Ancient Agora of Paphos for many years with important finds and a more important find that of the ancient market. While describing as invaluable the offer of Polish archaeological missions dating back to the 1960s, when the excavation team of the University of Warsaw under the direction of Professor Andreas Dazevski brought to light the famous mosaics in the Houses of Theseus and Century.
Also important, he stressed, is the work of the Australian University mission of the University of Sydney with the discovery of Hellenistic theatre, the largest theatre of antiquity with 8,000 seats. Excavations are being carried out under the direction of Dr Craig Barker.
Regarding the archaeological mission of the University of Avignon in France, the Mayor of Paphos stressed in particular the presence and work of Dr. Balandier who for 31 years has been visiting Paphos and knows, as he pointed out, fluent Greek, while revealing that the French scientist often comes with her own money or with funding from the French state to help the work of uncovering the ancient wealth of Paphos.
