14th Meeting of Postgraduate Cypriot Archaeology

THE MANY FACE(T)S OF CYPRUS

Abstracts

Caterina Scirè Calabrisotto (Florence) Palaeodietary Research in Cypriot Prehistoric Contexts: Methodology and Potentialities. A Case Study for Middle Bronze Age Erimi-Laonin tou Porakou Different models and strategies of food acquisition, production and consumption can reveal different technological and cultural strategies within the life of a community trough time, thus hinting at its social organization. Within this context, the importance of a palaeodietary research ranges far beyond the mere reconstruction of past human diet, providing useful data concerning both human impacts on the environment and the cultural behavior of a population, such as food supply and preparation, possible socio-economical and religious differences, possible trading among different communities. With reference to Prehistoric and Protohistoric Cyprus, notwithstanding different contributions to explain the patterns of development of the village-based communities towards more complex entities, palaeodietary studies are still lacking in the current literature. Given its significance, selected key-sites, pertaining to the period from the Late Chalcolithic to the beginning of Late Bronze Age, have been included into a palaeodietary research project intended to reconstruct Recent Prehistory diet in Cyprus. In particular, the focus will be drawn upon two main transitional horizons: the Philia facies at the very beginning of the Early Bronze Age, as well as the transition from the Middle to Late Bronze Age. With reference to the second one, the site of Erimi-Laonin tou porakou is discussed here. The Middle Bronze Age settlement is indeed located in a strategic position, with easy access both to marine and terrestrial resources, thus representing an interesting case of investigation in terms of food strategies and resource supplies.

Giulia Muti, Martina Fissore, Alessandra Saggio, Martina Monaco (Turin) Symbols Beyond Work Activity? Towards the Evaluation of Spinning Tools. Significance in Ancient and Middle South Coast Cyprus Spindle whorl assemblages are widely attested in Early and Middle Bronze Age Cyprus. Since their introduction at the very beginning of the Bronze Age (Philia facies), they appear in different functional contexts, settlement as well as funerary. The significant occurrence in domestic and working areas has been straightforwardly related to the important role they played in the textiles chaîne opératoire. At the same time, they possibly have assumed different symbolic values, as grave goods. The aim of this study is to investigate the key values held by decorated spindle whorls in Ancient and Middle Cypriot burial contexts, particularly focusing the South Coast region. The analyzed sites as case studies are grouped according to their locations in the lower river valleys (Psematismenos – Treloukkas, Kalavassos), middle river valleys (Erimi – Laonin tou Porakou, Paramali – Pharkonia) and upper river valleys (Lofou – Koulauzou,). Several scholars (eg. Bolger, Crewe, Smith and Webb) have stressed the symbolic significance of spindle whorls as gender marker, considering their exclusive co-occurrence with female skeletal remains and referring to textile production as an exclusively female domestic activity. Further symbolic traits can be eventually highlighted. During the Philia facies spindle whorls may be considered as one of the innovative elements to be identified with the Philia newcomers habitus, as opposed to the Chalcolithic indigenous communities. During the late phase of Middle WWW.RUB.DE

Cypriote period, they could also be connected with an increasing specialization in the textile production.

Marialucia Amadio, Francesca Chelazzi, Francesca Dolcetti, Mara Faggi (Turin) Ghost Architecture: Contextualizing Wooden and Perishable Structures from Middle Bronze Age Erimi-Laonin tou Porakou The archaeological research at the Middle Bronze Age site of Erimi Laonin tou Porakou (Limassol District, Cyprus) exposed a variegated range of built spaces, fashioned with diverse building patterns and techniques. This paper aims to investigate the significant role that wooden structures played in the development of built environment during the passage between the late EC and the end of the MC. Excavated data point to a twofold use of wood in architecture: free-standing wooden structures delimiting discrete spaces as well as wooden framing wall structures. The cross-check of archaeological evidences and palaeobotanical datasets from Erimi are examined in a double contextualizing perspective: a nuanced picture provided by comparative analysis of coeval Cypriote contexts is coupled with the palaeoenvironmental modelling to investigate the dynamics connected with the exploitation and use of wood in the built environment.

Constantina Alexandrou (Dublin) The Base-Ring Female Figurines in Settlements: Exploring their Possible Function(s) and Life-Cycles During the Late Bronze Age in Cyprus, two local types of pottery were produced; the Base-Ring and White Slip Ware. The family of the Base-Ring Ware includes not only pottery but also anthropomorphic and zoomorphic figurines, all of a hand-made production. The figurines under study belong to this family and constitute the predominant type of anthropomorphic figurines produced in Cyprus during the ca. 15th-12th centuries B.C. Broadly speaking, the handmade terracottas of females can be stylistically separated into two groups comprising both hollow and solid examples: the so-called ‘bird-headed’ (Type A) and ‘flat-headed’ (Type B) figurines. This group of figurines has been found all over Cyprus in domestic, burial and cultic structures. The examination of the exact archaeological context of objects such as figurines has been deemed valuable in the process of interpreting their function(s), role and character. Therefore, the exact archaeological context of the Base-Ring female figurines has been recorded and patterns have been observed regarding their places of discovery, assemblages, modes of discard and state of preservation (fragmentation). The possibility of one type (or construction type) appearing more frequently in the different contexts was also investigated. This paper is concentrated on the evidence deriving from the domestic structures which seems to be the figurines’ main context of use.

Melissa Samaes (Brussels) Cultural Entanglements at the Late Cypriot Harbour Town of Hala Sultan Tekke (Dromolaxia-Vyzakia). A Preliminary Pottery Study from the 2011-12 Sondages in Room 19, Building C HST is generally considered as a LC harbor town participating in the eastern Mediterranean exchange network or scholars refer to the site’s particular finds. Little is known however about the site’s social, political and cultural contexts. WWW.RUB.DE

In the framework of the post ‐excavation project of HST, a Belgian ‐German team started in 2011 digging sondages (test pits) in building C (area 8) – excavated by a Swedish team in the 1980s – in order to investigate the stratigraphy of the site and the different building phases. The pottery sherds presented here were found in the sondages dug in room 19 of building C. Only diagnostic rims, bases and decorated body sherds were analysed. In particular, three major groups pointing to a LC III context could be recognised: local Mycenaean, Plain wheel ‐made and hand ‐made and Cooking pots. At that time the typical LC I and II wares were already in decline. The case ‐study of the ceramic repertoire of room 19 aims to reveal possible function(s) of the room and to provide chronological markers for the different habitation levels in building C. It offers a preview – albeit concentrated to a specific site context – of the complex course of change in the production and consumption processes of ceramic vessels within the time capsule of room 19. Specific attention will go to the cultural mixtures that can be observed in the morphology of the vessel ‐forms and their decoration schemes, which might shed light on ‘hybrid’ actions. In this way, this study aims to add to a profound understanding of the narrative of HAST and to contribute to the ongoing debate concerning the imported and locally produced Mycenaean pottery in the East Mediterranean.

Birgit Schiller (Berlin) Imitation Mycenaean pottery on Cyprus To date, 7 faience stirrup jars, or rather fragments of the same, are known from Cyprus. These vessels were excavated in the Near East, in Egypt and in Nubia. Edgar Peltenburg divided faience stirrup jars into two distinct types: an ‘Egyptian’ and an ‘Eastern Asia’ type, both of which are known from Cyprus. One of the jars belonging to the ‘Egyptian type’, however, differs so much in size, wall thickness and overall quality from the other vessels that I argue for a third, Cypriot, type, inspired by Egyptian imitations. Faience stirrup jars are considered luxury items for trade or as gifts. Cyprus was not only involved with Egypt but also copied these Egyptian imitations. The examination of a faience stirrup jar from Soleb (Nubia) has demonstrated that these vessels were in fact filled with (perfumed?) oil. Furthermore, clay imitations of stirrup jars of simpler execution than the originals (‘simple style’), together with vessels of much poorer quality than the ‘simple style’ were produced in both Egypt and Palestine. The situation is different on Cyprus: Although the island is believed to have been a production center of ‘simple style’-pottery, no vessels of this ware have been found so far. Olive oil was also produced in Egypt and Syria-Palestine, but was most likely transported in low-quality stirrup jars. I intend to discuss the imitation stirrup jars from Cyprus, their socio-economic role, and the economic meaning of the absence of clay imitation vessels.

Francesco Spigno (Bochum/Sassari) Myceneans and Cypriots in Sardinia Situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, Sardinia constituted an obligatory stop in Mediterranean trade starting in the late Bronze Age, period in which the first imported artefacts are documented. The Mycenaean pottery is the most important archaeological marker, found in sixteen different locations in central-southern of Sardinia. In addition to ceramics, another category of artefacts, attesting relations with the Aegean-Cypriot world are the metallurgical artefacts (Copper and Oxhide lingots). The arrival of Cypriot copper on the island is linked to the production of a variety of products such as a traditional Cypriot tripod, bracket, incense burners and artefacts related to technology and processing of metals, such as springs and vanes. As part of my PhD project, I intend to carry out a comparative analysis of the Aegean-Cypriot materials found in Sardinia, and the nuraghic elements discovered in the Aegean-Levantine contexts. This analysis aims to draw up a critical and exhaustive catalogue of these materials, which will be the WWW.RUB.DE

basis from which to rebuild the history of commercial and cultural relations between the nuraghic communities and the Aegean world. Another aspect that I intend to exploit concerns the exact provenance of the artefacts, and to establish the region of origin (Crete, Argolis, Boeotia, Cyprus) across chemical analysis. The project will also try to determine whether the Mycenaean and Cypriot artefacts found in Sardinia are reflected in other areas of the Italian peninsula, affected by Mycenaean frequentation for which a more detailed archaeological record is available.

Cheryl Hart (Lampeter) Seeing is Believing? Perception, Cognition & Interpretation: An analysis of the rosette motif and its associated iconography as depicted on a kalathos from Cyprus My PhD research comprises a detailed analysis of the rosette motif within the iconography of the Eastern Mediterranean region during the Fourth to First Millennia BC. This particular motif, although prevalent in these cultures, has received little or no previous analysis, and certainly no in-depth examination. I perceive the motif to act as a means of non-verbal communication, and being under-pinned primarily by semiotic theory, my research utilises a multi-disciplinary approach to the visual interpretation of the motif, encompassing archaeology, art history, anthropology, and even studies into human perception and cognition, in order to examine the role of this particular motif from a broad contextual and conceptual background. As the current holder of the ASOR/CAARI Anita Cecil O’Donovan Fellowship 2014-2015, I am conducting an extensive period of primary research in Cyprus this summer, the results of which I intend to present in my paper at 14th POCA. The specific focus of my research in Cyprus will be to examine the use of the rosette in Late Bronze Age Cypriot art as part of ‘International Style’ and that of Early Iron Age as part of the Phoenician cultural world. This particular aspect will provide further data in respect of transmission and/or transformation of motifs between Eastern Mediterranean cultures. By analysing the material gained from the Cypriot repertoire from these perspectives I hope to enhance current scholarship by indicating in detail a specific contextual aspect of the role of Cyprus in these periods within exchange networks of the wider Eastern Mediterranean cultures.

Anna Paule (Linz) The Many Facets of Cypriot Gold Work: a Detailed Study of Gold Plaques Representing Chariot Scenes As regards the many facets of Cypriot culture, gold plaques can be mentioned as eloquent examples reflecting Oriental, Cypriot and Aegean art. The focus of the present study is on gold plaques decorated with chariot scenes which so far have been little studied. Altogether 20 specimens were discovered in diverse necropoleis located in Cyprus (e.g. at Palaepaphos- Skales, Amathus and Salamis). These items mostly belong to the Cypro-Geometric III and Cypro- Archaic I periods (c. 850-600 BC). Iconographically, one can distinguish two main subjects which are representing two faces of a warrior’s life, one of wartime (battle scenes) and the other of peacetime (hunting scenes). Both pictorial themes, which are occasionally completed by decorative elements such as women holding flowers, have a long tradition in Cyprus and the Near East. This can be illustrated with striking examples from the Late Bronze Age, among them a well-known ivory box from Enkomi and a large gold plaque from Tel Lachish depicting Astarte (Ishtar). Concerning comparable items found in the Aegean, eight gold strips from Rhodes (Exochi), Crete (Eleutherna) and Corinth can be cited which date to the Archaic (Orientalizing) period (c. 750-650 BC). Furthermore, it should be mentioned that the representation of chariot scenes was already well established in Mycenaean art and appeared as early as the Shaft Grave period (c. 1550 BC). As a conclusion from the given examples it seems that the Cypriot and Greek gold plaques and diadems under examination reflect more ancient traditions starting from the Late Bronze Age. Thus, their detailed study can contribute to further discussions about cultural interconnections in Antiquity.

WWW.RUB.DE

D. Georgia B. Bazemore, Adrian Turgel, Peter T. Spencer, Áurea Izquierdo Zamora (Cheney, Birmingham) The Rantidi Forest Mapping Project: Integration of Archaeological Data with Cultural and Natural Landscapes Since January 2014, The Rantidi Forest Mapping Project has been engaged in cultural and archaeological research within the rugged terrain of the Rantidi Forest area, in the district of Paphos in SW Cyprus. The aim of the project is to provide a wide-ranging and effective tool for multidisciplinary research in History and Archaeology, as well as Anthropology, Sociology, Geography, Economy and Tourism. Primarily our work has consisted of an extensive desk-based assessment of the known historical texts, previous archaeological work and field knowledge of the area. The RFM Project is focused now on the development and use of GIS based mapping, landscape analysis, and extensive- intensive surveys for the identification and recording of standing buildings, archaeological sites and both material and intangible culture, as well as their integration in a coherent, bilingual and accessible HER database. Because of the nature of this Project, an understanding of the Mediterranean landscape and the interconnections within its societies are essential. The marks and patterns left by the ever- changing development of rural and urban settlements are still observable within the landscape today, involving deep and necessary relationship between a society and its environment. Landmarks, symbols, settlements, buildings, natural elements and even oral tradition will have a record on the database that will be inter-connected with their real world positions. The aim of this paper is to share the preliminary results that our interdisciplinary team have obtained during the first season of the Rantidi Forest Mapping Project with the rest of Heritage professionals working in Cyprus.

Marion Bolder-Boos (Darmstadt) The Phoenicians in Cyprus – Kition and Beyond From the 9th century BCE onwards the Phoenicians founded settlements outside their Levantine homeland, in the Mediterranean and on the Atlantic coast. Kition, located on the eastern shore of Cyprus and facing the Levantine coast, is the oldest of these settlements. It has generally been assumed that most of the Phoenician foundations were what Polanyi described as “ports of trade”, small settlements founded in areas rich in natural resources in order to trade goods with the indigenous populations. This widely held view has recently come under scrutiny. Kition is particularly striking, as ancient sources describe it as a city kingdom rather than a trading town. Founded by Phoenicians from Tyre, Kition seems to have acquired its independence quite quickly, developing into a city state similar to Iron Age Cypriote sites such as Salamis, Paphos, Amathus and Kourion. Although only partly excavated, several elements of the Phoenician city – such as the sanctuary sites of Bamboula and Kathari, the urban grid, the living quarters, the military harbour – have been identified, confirming that Kition was indeed no mere trading post. This paper therefore seeks to explore the importance of Kition in comparison to other Cypriote cities, looking not only at the various reports on power struggles and competition for resources, but also investigating more generally the diverse levels of cultural contacts between the Phoenicians of Kition and other inhabitants of the island by looking especially at urban features, religious aspects and material culture.

Adriano Orsingher (Rome) A Stopover along the Journey of Elissa. Kition between Tyre and Carthage According to Giustino (XVIII, 4-6), Elissa, princess of Tyre, and her companions stopped – during their westward journey – in Cyprus, likely at Kition, where the Phoenicians were already WWW.RUB.DE

established. This tradition has been used in the literature to stress the relevance of both Kition and Carthage in the transmission of Cypriot features to the Phoenician and Punic settlements in the Western and Central Mediterranean. The aim of this paper is to present a synthetic survey of the archaeological evidence currently available from Kition (c. 9th-6th centuries BC), in order to outline – through some case studies – the Tyrian and Cypriot background, its distinctive features and the connection with the Phoenician and Punic West.

Pauline Maillard (Lausanne) Many Ways to Name a Goddess: the Artemis Paralia Sanctuary in Kition The so-called “Salines sanctuary” was established close to the old Kition, modern Larnaka, on the south coast of Cyprus. This worship place, of which we have no trace anymore, was installed in an unusual place. Located outside the city walls, the sanctuary directly adjoined a large salt lake. On those shores were found around 600 terracotta figurines; all dated from the fourth century B.C. They mainly represent women, or Goddesses, capped with high kalathoi, sitting alone on a throne or accompanied by acolytes holding worship instruments. Produced in local workshops, those figurines collected in the Salines show a very close iconography of contemporary Greek productions, from which they are unquestionably derived. This supposed Hellenic ancestry has therefore been amplified by the discovery of several Greek inscriptions. Despite beeing from the Roman imperial period, they clearly indicate the presence in the surroundings of a cult honouring the goddess Artemis under the epiclesis of Paralia, at least in the second century. Although the association of the terracotta figurines with the image and the cult of Artemis is a possibility, the time gap between the two categories of objects sets open a whole field of assumptions about the identity of the divinity. The archaeological material assigned to the Classical period, assembled in various places of the city, is a complex and multi-faced Phoenician and Greek assemblage, otherwise-known as typically Cypriot. In 1995, Edward Lipinski submitted in his synthesis on the Gods and Goddesses of the Phoenician World (Studia Phoenicia XIV) a new reading of a semitic inscription contemporary to the votive offerings. Discovered near the lake and remained partially unexplored until now, the Phoenician text is a dedication "To the Lady, the Mother h'zrt." This unusual reading and the link thus created many opportunities to bring back the debate: the Goddess honoured in the Salines could have been part of the Phoenician pantheon of Kition.

Agnieszka Halczuk, Yannick Vernet (Pozna ń, Avignon/Paris) Apollo Heleitas from Tamassos-Frangissa The aim of this article is to examine the figure of Apollo Heleitas who was studied regarding linguistic, religious and historical aspects. This divinity emerged in Tamassos, one of the ancient Cypriot City-Kingdoms situated in the Mesaoria Plain. The submitted study is based on a 4th century B.C. bilingual dedication (in the Cypriot Syllabary and the Phoenician alphabet), found in the sanctuary of Tamassos-Frangissa, made by a Phoenician called Abdsas ōm. Heleitas is an epiclesis of Apollo that has never been attested elsewhere. In the Phoenician script this divinity was assimilated to the Semitic god Reshef ‘lyyt. The linguistic analysis of this inscription constitutes the first part of this paper and it proves that Heleitas was the primary god of Frangissa. Furthermore, the religious and cultic study was conducted in order to determine the essence of this deity. Owing to this complex analysis, it was possible to find out why Heleitas was assimilated to Apollo in the Cypro-Syllabic version of the text and Reshef in the Phoenician part. Finally, the relation between the inscription and the historical background of Tamassos was examined as it reflects the political situation of the Mesaoria at that time, which was unstable due to the ambitions of Phoenician kings who wanted to rule this kingdom.

WWW.RUB.DE

Anaïs Michel (Aix-en-Provence/Nicosia) Portraits from the Hellenistic City of Amathous: the Contribution of the Epigraphic Evidence to the Understanding of a Heterogeneous Identity The present proposal focuses on the epigraphic evidence of the city of Amathous in the Hellenistic period. This presentation is incorporated in the framework of a PHD thesis, carried out since September 13’ under the direction of Pr. Hermary from Aix-Marseille Université and Pr. Michaelides from UCY. This research aims to gather the inscriptions of the Hellenistic period of Cyprus in order to document through the epigraphic evidence the consequences of the Ptolemaic rule on the Cypriot society. I would be glad to present the first results of my study at the POCA meeting, to date focused on the city of Amathous. With an amount of 40 texts of various forms (mostly decrees, dedications and epitaphs) this corpus offers a heterogeneous portrait of the Hellenistic Amathousian society, in which local elements meet the foreign ones in many various aspects of everyday life such as administration, cults and funeral practices. Through the study of few selected official, votive and funeral inscriptions, I intend to draw a representative outline of this complex society and to document the polymorphous and heterogeneous figures of Ptolemaic Amathous, such as Nikogenes the young warrior from Kalymnos fallen “far from his motherland”, Onesikrates, the Cypriot gymnasiarch dedicating a stoa for Ptolemy Philometor on the agora, or the anonymous official who made a dedication on the top of the acropolis in favour of Sarapis, Isis-Aphrodite, the Synnaoi Theoi and the Gods Evergetes, each of them raising the question of identity in a complex and polymorphous “multi-face(t)s” world.

Niki Kyriakou (Nicosia) The Role of Rural Sites in Late Roman Cyprus: The Case Study of Vasilikos Valley During the 4th-7th centuries A.D. the rural landscape of Late Roman Cyprus experienced an economic development. This prosperity is reflected in the increasing number of rural sites and basilicas appearing in the hinterland of urban centres. The current paper attempts to explain the role of the rural sites in the economy of Late Roman Cyprus and their relationship with the urban centres. The case study discussed in this paper is the rural sites network of Vassilikos Valley, developed in the east frontiers of Amathus urban centre. Vasilikos Valley sites dating in the Late Roman period are extensive and range from the coastal areas of Vasiliko and Zygi up to the north of Kalavasos Dum. In order to give further insights to the role of the Vasilikos Valley rural sites a GIS- Cost Surface Analysis,(CSA), approach is adopted. The GIS-CSA enables to visualize and analyze the relationship of the rural sites with Amathus and to acquire their catchment areas. Additionally the GIS-CSA data are statistically explored to identify possible trends in sites locations preferences. The GIS and Statistical analysis aim to reveal the spatial relation of the rural sites to the urban centre and coastal highway, to arable land, to water and most importantly to the pillow lava deposits.

Dorota Mazanek (Warsaw) Three Different Households, three Different Glass Vessel Equipment from the Polish Excavations in Paphos, Cyprus Aim is to present variety of glass vessels forms from a huge repertoire of Roman glass found by Polish Mission at Maloutena Plateau within Archaeological Park in Kato Paphos. Field works within Polish concession area have been conducted since 1965 and there are still ongoing. Polish archaeologists unearthed three big residential complexes: so-called “Hellenistic House” (second half of second c. bc – first half of first c. ad), House of Aion (third c. ad – fifth c. ad) and the biggest Roman villa discovered in Cyprus so far – Villa of Theseus (second half of second c. ad – end of fourth c. ad) These three different adjacent households with distinct functioning and purpose and what is the most important different time of using are reflecting everyday lifetime of inhabitants of ancient Paphos during Roman Period. I would like to shortly present a wide range of glass assemblage as part of rich and various equipment of those three houses, to mention WWW.RUB.DE

similarities and differences of forms from each house. There are private small living rooms, public bathrooms and big representative halls. It is important to match what kind of vessels were used or might were used in each room. We are dealing with simple utilitarian glassware equipment on the one hand and a part of luxury and expensive cutlery in representative halls on the other. This is important because not only a rare examples can tell as about provenance and origin place of production of glass and specify form of vessel. Finding glass parallels outside of Paphos would be helpful to understand connections and influences of a city during Roman Period.

Malgorzata Kajzer (Cracow) Different Groups of the Early Roman Fine Ware Pottery from the Agora of Nea Paphos The presentation concerns the question of fine ware pottery, especially terra sigillata, found during three seasons of the Paphos Agora Project. The project is conducted since 2011 by the Polish Archaeological team from the Jagiellonian University under a supervision of prof. Evdoxia Papuci-Wladyka in the area of ancient agora. During excavations it has been found various categories of pottery groups which could be dated to Early Roman Period (c. 50 BC – II century AD). Among them there are some rare forms, imports from The Near East (Eastern Sigillata A, Eastern Sigillata B) and local products (Cypriot Sigillata) as well. The presence of different groups of table ware confirms various trade contacts and the workmanship of vessels shows the high position of the city and its society.

Kamila Nocón (Cracow) Hellenistic and Roman Kitchen Ware from Nea Paphos. A Preliminary Study from the Paphos Agora Project The aim of the paper is to discuss the results from excavation conducted by Institute of Archaeology, Jagiellonian University (Kraków) at Paphos Agora site since 2011. The core of the paper is to present a preliminary study kitchen ware from Hellenistic and Roman period excavated during the 2011-20 13 seasons Paphos Agora Project. In this paper I want to briefly examine the most popular shapes of the cooking ware as well as chronological range of them.

Stavros S. Panayiotou (Exeter) The Political Status of Cyprus during the Muslim Expeditions and the Problem of Primary Source First, despite the fact that primary source material concerning Cyprus from the mid 7th to the mid 10th centuries are scanty and meager they provide, however, invaluable information regarding the first two Arab expeditions in the island (649, 653 AD) as well as the peculiar political status which was introduced after a treaty between the Muslims, the Byzantines and a local community of the island. Unfortunately, primary source material – consist of chronicles, monographs, manuscripts, inscriptions, and archaeological findings – are quite controversial as regards chronological order and authenticity of incidents especially about the events that have been described by Christian and Muslim historians. Biased, prejudiced, overestimated historical views were emerged through their works due to individual, social, and religious expediencies. Through this paper I intend to present (first part) some crucial paradigms related to those controversial aspects. It is noteworthy to add that there is a common view arguing that it is an urgent need to re-examine primary source material concerning Cyprus between Byzantium and Islam paying more attention to Muslim sources -at this period- since the majority of ecclesiastical,

WWW.RUB.DE

hagiographical Byzantine sources do not provide multidimensional methodology for their arguments insisting – contrarily – on how to insult and offend Muslims characterizing them as merciless bloodthirsty pirates who embarked in Cyprus to kill and destroy using the island as a mere nest of pirates. Finally, I intend explain (second part) whether Cyprus has been under a status of condominium or neutralization during this period.

Richard Maguire (Norwich) Finding Philon: Karpasia Reconsidered The earliest Cypriot basilicas were vast. Agios Epiphanius in Salamis covered c.2320 sq.m and Chrysopolitissa in Paphos extended to c.2268 sq.m; each comprised seven aisles divided by c.80 columns. Epiphanius, the island’s fourth-century metropolitan, has been identified as the architect of Agios Epiphanius, and it has been argued that his contemporary, Philon was the architect of Ayios Philon at Karpasia. However, Philon’s basilica comprised only three aisles divided by 14 columns covering a total area of 252 sq.m. Why did a cleric, no less renowned than Epiphanius, embellish his see with such a small basilica? Karpasia’s excavators, Megaw and Du Plat Taylor, identified an atrium and a narthex preceding a basilica and, to the south, a baptistery and a second atrium. This paper proposes that this second atrium preceded a basilica of which a narthex and a section of north aisle survive. The excavators identified our narthex as ‘the principal route to the basilica from the southern quarters of the city’ despite the fact that it deteriorates into a narrow, indirect and poorly-paved corridor. Furthermore, they identify our aisle as the north portico of a third atrium. However, this ‘portico’ was defined by piers with demi-shafts, so strikingly similar to the supports of the outer aisles at Salamis, that a closed rather than an open space seems probable. But why two basilicas in a single complex? Did the present Ayios Philon serve as a parekklesion to a baptistery comparable with Kourion and Peyia, complexes that also included a second basilica?

Thomas Kaffenberger (Mainz/London) An Unidentified Ruined Church of the 14th Century in Famagusta. Observations on the Urban Ecclesiastical Architecture in Cyprus Famagusta is said to have once possessed as many churches as there are days in the year. Even if this has to be treated as a topos rather than a realistic account, an astonishing amount of over 30 medieval churches are preserved or traceable inside the Venetian city walls today. Already travellers of the 19th century described the beauty of the picturesque, crumbling ruins in the old town. A first scholarly treatment of the buildings followed in 1899, written by Camille Enlart, one of the most distinguished architectural historians of his time. He identified many of the previously nameless churches and investigated them meticulously. During the last two decades, scholarship has revisited many of Enlarts results, though most studies focused on the splendid cathedrals and the larger or painted churches. In contrast, the smaller unidentified structures are rarely mentioned or even recognized as relevant objects for future research. Of the "unidentified church no 18", which will be in the focus of the proposed paper, only the western and eastern walls are preserved today. While it seems impossible to approach the origins of the building through sources, the remaining fabric and historic photographies from the 1890s to the 1930s at least allow for a reconstruction of the original shape. It is very likely that the church used to be a domed basilica, a very unusual type in medieval Cyprus. Furthermore, especially the facade shows a remarkable mèlange of stylistic elements with origins in France or the Latin East, which places it comfortably in the 14th century. I intend to demonstrate in my paper with this case study that a careful re-examination and contextualization also of these rarely considered structures is highly promising.

WWW.RUB.DE

Danai Konstantinidou (Nicosia) Purifying the Medieval – British Perspectives on the Ottoman Heritage of Cyprus In the late nineteenth century, the British undertaking the administration of Cyprus brought along with it the principal ideas of the British Empire. Fundamentally against any expressions of the former and in their opinion anachronistic and inferior Ottoman rule, the British made it their mission to restore Cyprus from its three hundred year ‘sleep’ by re-establishing the island’s conveniently associated with Western European powers medieval glory. This was expressed through the practical restoration of multiple sites and buildings. Using the restorations of the two Gothic cathedrals (at that time, mosques) of Famagusta and Nicosia as case studies, this paper will trace how it was in fact the British ideology that practically shaped aspects of the island’s built cultural heritage. Reused and modified throughout the Ottoman rule, these medieval masterpieces of Cyprus had disagreeable Ottoman associations to the British eyes that required immediate elimination. Yet, despite the outcry not only of foreign scholars but also of the British public opinion, they were still being used as mosques by the Muslim Cypriot population and were under Evkaf ownership; a complicated and unique situation for the British Empire that called for an original solution. With the British attempting to prevail over the remains of the Ottoman rule, driven by the strong ideology of Orientalism, with numerous players involved both in Cyprus and in Great Britain and with the theory of heritage conservation being formed at the time, the fate and state of monuments that we take for granted today, was anything but self-evident.

Christina Roditou (Nicosia) Images of Cyprus in the 1950s The 1950s was a period of political instability and social unrest for Cyprus; a British colony since 1925. Visual representations of commercial, documentary and artistic nature flooded Cypriot and European markets that projected an identity for Cyprus. This paper will examine the diversity of these images and the way they reflected conflicting ideologies that influenced the documentation and dissemination of the Cyprus experience in the mid-20th century. During the 1950s, the British administration aimed to promote the island as a touristic destination by advancing the publication of posters, photo albums and postcards while limiting representations that would directly connect Cyprus to Greece. Therefore, local photographers like Toufexis, Magoian, Avedissian and Charitou worked under the critical eye of the administration serving colonial policies even when depicting the island’s antiquities. Meanwhile, Greek photographers like Papademas, Chrousaki and visitors like Seferis and Tarsouli - supported by the Cypriot Ethnarchy and political cycles in Greece in favor of Enosis- produced illustrations that framed Cyprus as part of the Hellenic world. What is interesting is that they extensively used aspects of the islands architectural and archaeological legacy as a stage to support their perception of Cyprus. Among them Apostolos Ververis, whose photographic archive on Cyprus offers informative examples of this phenomenon. This paper aspires to address the use of visual representations, inspired by the island’s architectural and archaeological legacy, in the formulation of a visual identity for Cyprus in the 1950s. This identity had many and diverse faces reflecting a period of transition and political volatility.

Sponsored by WWW.RUB.DE