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Completion
of the 2022 excavation season of the Kourion Urban Space Project (KUSP) |
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The Department of Antiquities of the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Works, announces the completion of the 2022 excavation season of the Kourion Urban Space Project (KUSP), under the direction of Dr. Thomas W. Davis of the Lanier Center for Archaeology at Lipscomb University and Dr. Laura A. Swantek of Arizona State University, USA. KUSP partners include the Australian Institute of Archaeology, the University of Cyprus, the Cyprus University of Technology and the Western Sovereign Base Area Archaeological Society. Since 2013, KUSP
has been excavating the remains of a large building (Building 4) likely
destroyed in a seismic event, just west of the Earthquake House on the
Kourion acropolis, Limassol District. The excavation of Building 4 is part of
a long-term archaeological investigation of the ancient city of Kourion that
includes planning of the natural and cultural environment, continued work on
materials from the Earthquake House, investigation of soil micromorphology to
better understand the history of earthquakes in the area, mapping of the
Kourion water system and urban plan, and study of wealth inequality and
social dynamics, during the Early through Late Roman period. KUSP also
investigates the social and economic impacts of natural disasters on human
social systems. KUSP’s summer
2022 excavation season revealed that Building 4 is older than originally
proposed, possibly constructed sometime in the 2nd century CE. This earlier
date was determined through careful analysis of pottery and sculpture found
on the room floors. A sculpture of a young boy was found lying face down on a
mosaic floor and covered by large tumbled wall stones in the westernmost
excavated room of Building 4. The sculpture is broken- missing the right
hand, the left leg, and both feet. He has wavy hair arranged in a top-knot,
and a slightly bulging belly complete with a belly-button. In his left hand
he holds a bird, most likely a duck. This sculpture is similar to one that is
currently in the Vatican Museum which is thought to be a Roman variation of a
2nd Century BCE original. This variation was popular during the 2nd century
CE, and its presence along with similarly dated pottery found resting on the
floor suggests that Building 4 was in use during this time. There is little
doubt that Building 4 was inhabited by wealthy individuals. Excavation this
season uncovered more imported marble slabs used as revetment and fragments
of the painted plaster that once adorned walls. In one of the central rooms
of Building 4, the painted plaster fragments appear to form a central panel
with leaves and possibly grapes in green, blue and yellow, that is bordered
with thick stripes of white, red and black. KUSP’s work this summer also
produced more fragments of an Egyptian mosaic glass plate and a glass cage
cup originally excavated in previous years. Both of these objects were
imported, were manufactured in limited places and in small quantities by
specialists and were undoubtedly expensive and reserved for wealthy and
high-status individuals. Taken together, the highly decorated nature of the
building and the imported and expensive goods found within it are important
indicators of who used this building. KUSP is working
in collaboration with the Department of Antiquities, Cyprus to complete the
excavation of Building 4 and preserve the structure for future visitors to
Kourion. Its position on the acropolis next to the Earthquake House, a
non-elite domestic structure, and just south of the public buildings of the
city, will give visitors a sense of what it was like for people of different
socio-economic classes to live and move around an ancient city. (NG/ECHR) |
