“The Palaepaphos Urban Landscape Project”: Theoretical Background and Preliminary Report 2006-2007
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14. (20) p 263_290 c&k 12/4/08 9:54 PM Page 263 “The Palaepaphos Urban Landscape Project”: Theoretical Background and Preliminary Report 2006-2007 Maria Iacovou (University of Cyprus) INTRODUCTION Late Bronze and in the Iron Ages, is to this day poorly understood. Its few visible monuments Fieldwork initiated by the Archaeological —the secular structures in the localities Marchel- Research Unit of the University of Cyprus at Kouklia-Palaepaphos in 2006 has been designed lo, Hadjiabdoulla and Evreti, the sepulchral to meet the requirements of two interconnected projects. The first, to which the present article ____________ provides the theoretical background and explains 1. In my capacity as field director, I wish to thank the Director the 2006 and 2007 field targets, is “The Palaepa- of Antiquities of Cyprus Dr Pavlos Flourentzos for permis- phos Urban Landscape Project”.1 The second, sion to initiate the Palaepaphos-Marchello field project in 2006 and for the annual renewal of his permit. I extend my which is entitled “A long-term response to the gratitude to the Curator of Museums Dr Maria Hadjicosti for need to make modern development and the having encouraged me to consider a long-term excavation preservation of the archaeo-cultural record mutu- project at various key-sites in the vicinity of the sanctuary of ally compatible operations: Pilot application at Palaepaphos and for her sound advice on formal procedures. I thank most warmly the Curator of Monuments Dr Marina Kouklia-Palaepaphos” (“Palaepaphos Pilot Pro- Ieronymidou for her steadfast support of the different aspects ject”, for short), is a project concerned with the of our field operations (geophysical surveys and excavations) development of a framework of principles for the and her impeccable and timely handling of issues as sensitive as the declaration or expropriation of private land. Special management of archaeological landscapes as thanks are due to the Archaeological Officer of Paphos Dr extensive as that of Palaepaphos, which are des- Stathis Raptou for his collegial and collaborative spirit and tined to sustain modern development.2 It was for facilitating our work in every way. All participants of the 2006 and 2007 field seasons wish to thank the staff members submitted to the University of Cyprus in 2005, of the Kouklia Regional Museum and, in particular, following a call for applied research projects Onisiphoros Loukaides for ‘hosting’ us in the Medieval with a direct impact and significant benefit for Manor House. To Maro, Ntina, Savvas, Marina, Gianoulla, Cyprus. Based on the assessment of three anony- Giorgos and Michalis we extend our warmest thanks for mak- ing our stay in the ‘Chiftlik’ a memorable experience and for mous peer reviewers, the University Research their readiness to help us solve all kinds of problems and Committee decided to support and fund the pro- crises. We also wish to thank the mayor of Kouklia, Mr ject for three years (2007-2010). Christos Miltiadous and the municipal council of the com- munity for their assistance and hospitality. 2. Principal Investigator: Maria Iacovou, Department of Histo- THEORETICAL BACKGROUND ry and Archaeology, University of Cyprus. Members of Re- search Team: Dr Andreas Andreou, Department of Computer Kouklia-Palaepaphos is an extensive yet Science, University of Cyprus; Dr Stratos Stylianides, Visit- insufficiently defined landscape rich in sensitive ing Lecturer, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (Special archaeological data. How this landscape was Scientist); Dr Apostolos Sarris, Scientific Supervisor and Director of the Laboratory of Geophysical – Satellite Remote organised in antiquity, and especially how it was Sensing & Archaeo-environment, Institute for Mediterranean utilised by different urban components in the Studies (External Collaborator). 14. (20) p 263_290 c&k 12/4/08 9:54 PM Page 264 264 MARIA IACOVOU monument (built tomb) known as “Spilaion tis doned. Only the sanctuary continued to receive Regainas” at Arkalou and, of course, its unparal- attention and, in fact, during the Hellenistic and leled sacred monument, the open-air sanctuary to Roman eras, its direct environs were heavily an aniconic deity who was to become known as remodelled to accommodate the needs of pil- Aphrodite— are scattered over an area of a cou- grims. Thus, the rest of the town, which soon ple of square kilometres (Fig. 1). Since they are after the move to Nea Paphos began to be spatially isolated from each other, it is not easy to referred to as Palaea and Palaeopaphos, appears guess how, or if, they interacted. In particular, the to have been spared the kind of extensive public temporal and institutional relationship and the projects that have obliterated (with the construc- physical communication of the secular and sepul- tion of gymnasia and theatres) the better part of chral monuments with the great sanctuary are the Archaic and Classical urban landscape of issues requiring consideration. Salamis, Amathous and Kourion. With the advent In spite of the fact that the visible monuments of Christianity, Palaepaphos also lost its religious are few and dispersed, Palaepaphos continues to significance and, since in Late Antiquity it was provide ample scope for the identification of its not a populous harbour town, like Salamis, urban model in the 2nd and 1st millennia B.C. As Amathous or Kourion, no early Christian basili- has been confirmed by the rewarding results of cas were constructed near, or on top of, its “pagan” cult centre. By the Frankish period, Old the 2006 and 2007 fieldwork on Marchello and Paphos had become an agricultural community by the promising indications of the geophysical within the feudal estate of the royal family of the survey conducted in October 2007 under the Lusignans. The agricultural character of the com- “Palaepaphos Pilot Project” (Fig. 2),3 the area munity, known since as Kouklia, was retained holds untapped but endangered sources of virtually unchanged throughout the Venetian, archaeological information. One may still locate Ottoman and British rule; nor did it change to any ‘windows’ that afford direct access to strata, even considerable degree during the first decade after monuments, of a period when the area contained Independence (1960). Since the 1970s, when the administrative capital of an Iron Age king- agriculture ceased to be a sustainable way of life, dom. It also reveals evidence —though less often— of Late Cypriot occupation, from the time when the same area had been chosen for the ____________ foundation of an emporion that facilitated the 3. Within the framework of the “Palaepaphos Pilot Project” a export of copper from the region of Paphos. It geophysical survey —employing resistivity, magnetic and GPR techniques— was conducted in October 2007 by the was from this gateway community, founded in project’s main scientific partner, the Institute for Mediter- MCIII/ LCI, that the coastal settlement of Paphos ranean Studies of the Foundation of Research and Technolo- grew into one of the island’s first regional gy, Hellas (IMS-FORTH). It was directed by Dr Apostolos th Sarris, Director of the Institute’s Laboratory of Geophysical polities - though, probably, not before the 13 – Satellite Remote Sensing and Archaeo-environment in col- century B.C. laboration with Maria Iacovou. The survey team from the The reason behind this rarely observed direct IMS-FORTH (E. Kokkinou, P. Soupios, E. Papadopoulos, V. Trigkas, O. Sepsa, D. Gionis) and the ARU (A. Agapiou accessibility to settlement strata of the golden era and A. Satraki), scanned 56,202 sq.m. A number of promis- of the Cypriot kingdoms (i.e. Cypro-Archaic and ing targets were indicated and some show good correlation Cypro-Classical) is almost certainly related to the with surface monuments. All maps and the corresponding interpretation of the geophysical features were registered to a move away of port facilities and administrative GIS application after an intensive DGPS survey, which con- functions to Nea Paphos sometime in the 4th cen- sists of aerial and satellite imagery and digital products of the tury B.C. (Iacovou forthcoming). Apparently, the land-use and its geology. The technical report was submitted by Dr Sarris to the Principal Investigator (M. Iacovou) in urban landscape began to shrink as secular units April 2008. A separate article is under preparation on the of the kingdom’s old capital were being aban- techniques used and the results of the survey. 14. (20) p 263_290 c&k 12/4/08 9:54 PM Page 265 THE PALAEPAPHOS URBAN LANDSCAPE PROJECT 2006-2007 265 the population of Kouklia could no longer sur- accomplished in Cyprus to this day (cf. Maier vive on the cultivation of their land; nor were and Karageorghis 1984, 326-38; Maier 2004, 89- they allowed to make any other use of it, since 105). Meanwhile, ever since the 1960s, the almost all the private parcels around the village Department of Antiquities of Cyprus has been have been listed by the Department of Antiqui- conducting rescue digs, mostly of tombs but also ties. They come under Protection Zone “B” (Fig. of extra-urban sanctuaries, almost on a daily 3), which means that the Republic’s heritage basis, but tomb robbing is still rampant in the manager has good reason to believe that these area. parcels have considerable archaeo-cultural value. After more than a century of organised and Almost four decades later, the demands placed emergency field projects the Late Bronze Age by the local community upon the government in town, which housed the society that established order to have the status of their land modified, the sanctuary and constructed some of the richest have become increasingly pressing — and they Late Cypriot tombs ever found on the island are not entirely unjustified: no excavation project (cf. Catling 1968; Maier and Karageorghis 1984, has been carried out to prove or disprove the 51), continues to defy spatial definition.