|
The Department of Antiquities
of the Deputy Ministry of Culture announces the completion of the three-month
survey, excavation, and study program of 2023 at Agios Georgios tis Pegeias
by the New York University Geronisos Island Expedition, under the direction
of Joan Breton Connelly, Professor of Classics at New York University.
Archaeological excavation was conducted at Maniki Harbour, at the Meletis
Necropolis, and atop Geronisos Island, along with comprehensive study of
excavated materials in preparation for publication.
The harbour, island, and
mainland coast of Cape Drepanum constitute significant cultural treasures of
the Republic of Cyprus, renowned for their natural beauty, ecological
diversity, and historic significance. The small ‘pocket harbour’ of Maniki
holds special meaning for the local community of Pegeia and generations of
fishermen for whom it is a longstanding ‘place of memory’. From Hellenistic
times onward Maniki Harbour served as the main port of departure for the
island of Geronisos. During Early Byzantine times it served as the arrival
port for the great Justinianic basilica site on the Cape Drepanum acropolis.
An international team of
scholars and students took part in the multi-disciplinary program of
excavation and research. Dr. Stella Demesticha, Associate Professor of
Maritime Archaeology at the University of Cyprus undertook typological and
quantification analysis of the vast deposits of late Roman amphorae, dumped
along the shores of Maniki Harbour. The great majority of vessels are of Late
Roman 1 type and of local Paphian manufacture. Significant imports include
two types of Late Roman amphorae from the Levant, ‘Gaza Jars’ and so called
‘Palestinian bag-shaped amphorae’, pointing to important trade connections
with South Palestine during the mid-6th century AD.
Dr. Theotokis Theodoulou, Head
of the Cretan section of the Ephorate for Underwater Antiquities in Greece
and Dr. Alexandros Tourtas of the University of the Aegean, have completed
their comprehensive coastal and underwater survey of Maniki Harbour and the
entire Cape Drepanum area. They have executed aerial mapping, 3-D modelling
of the coast from the Sea Caves to the Aspros River, have lifted a series of
stone anchors from the sea floor, and identified bollards for the mooring of
ships.
Atop Geronisos itself, Philip
Ebeling directed a team from Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster in the
photogrammetic documentation and excavation of a highly significant deposit
of Hellenistic rooftiles. These are of both the Laconian and Corinthian type
and indicate the importance and monumentality of the structures built on
Geronisos. Architect Pieter Brouke, Professor of the History of Art and
Architecture at Middlebury College, continued his study of the Geronisos
limestone architectural blocks and mouldings.
The New York University team
also concluded excavation of an important rock-cut tomb they first discovered
in 2018 at the necropolis of Meletis, roughly half a kilometer inland from
Agios Georgios. This family tomb represents the earliest of the burials at
Meletis and was in continuous use from Late Hellenistic through Roman times,
roughly from the 1st century B.C. to the 3rd, possibly
early 4th cent. A.D.
Dr. Paul Croft, of the Lemba
Archaeological Research Centre, headed the excavation of this tomb comprising
a stepped dromos leading down to a main chamber with two loculi and two
tetrasolia. The tomb’s abundant oil jars, jugs, laygnoi, table amphorae, and
lamps are under study by Prof. Jolanta Mlynaczyk of the University of Warsaw,
while Dr. Monika Miziolek of the Institute of Mediterranean and Oriental
Cultures, Polish Academy of Sciences, is focusing on the Roman cooking
pottery. A vast amount of glass and glass fragments were recovered and are
being studied by Dr. Mariusz Burdajewicz of the University of Warsaw.
Dr. Efthymia Nikita, Assistant
Professor of Bioarchaeology at the Science and Technology in Archaeology and
Culture Research Centre, The Cyprus Institute, and her students continued
their study of the tomb’s human skeletal remains. Preliminary results show a
minimum number of 6 individuals (including five adults and one adolescent)
buried in the tomb chamber as well as four infants (including one fetus)
buried in a concavity at the base of the dromos, just outside the chamber.
A team led by Athanasios
Koutoupas of the Andreas Pittas Art Characterization Laboratories (APAC Labs)
at the Cyprus Institute has completed full documentation of the Meletis tomb
using 3-D scanning and photogrammetry.
(AP/SCH)
|
