Pafos Live 5 January 2024
Archaeologists from the University of Sydney are making history in Cyprus. More than 400 archaeologists, students and community volunteers, both Australian and international, have participated in the excavations. Since 1995, the University of Sydney has been unveiling the ruins of the ancient theatre of Paphos at the World Heritage Centre of Nea Pafos.
This centre, a valuable research hub of the Republic of Cyprus, offers a direct link to the ancient history of the island. Working closely with the Department of Antiquities of Cyprus, the Australian mission is celebrating the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Australia and Cyprus in 2023. Led by Dr. Craig Barker and Professor Emeritus Richard Green, the team honours this milestone with a project that reveals one of the greatest treasures of the island and Hellenism, continues the report.
The Australian expedition, spanning nearly three decades, focuses on excavating the historic theatre and its surroundings in the city that served as the capital of Cyprus during the Ptolemaic and Roman periods. The excavations revealed a theatre in use for more than 65 years, from around 300 BC to the end of the 4th century AD, which housed more than 8,500 people at its peak in the second century AD.
The ongoing fieldwork explores the urban layout of the adjacent theatre precinct, revealing Roman cobblestone streets and a Roman nymphaeum. The University of Sydney team is engaged in interpreting, cataloguing and publishing vases and artifacts alongside the excavation.
Areas of interest include the development of theatre architecture, the materiality of theatrical performances of the Hellenistic period, Hellenistic to post-medieval ceramic production in Cyprus, the urban layout of the ancient city and the Roman use of water in an urban environment. In the 2023 excavation season, trenches in three sections of the site revealed the foundations of the Roman "Royal Box" from the remains of the old cavea. The University of Sydney team suggests that this box, intended for dignitaries, likely had a marble or painted façade of a mural. Notably, this marks the first appearance of this architectural element in ancient Cypriot theatres.
Behind the theatre, work continues on an extensive medieval and post-medieval structure, probably an important edifice of late medieval and Venetian Pafos. South of the theatre, areas of archaeological study have revealed the impressive alignment of Roman routes through Nea Pafos. Archaeological trenches have shown architectural peculiarities, indicating modifications by medieval and Ottoman engineers, concludes the report.
