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Warsaw University and Jagiellonian Krakow University in cooperation with Warsaw University of Technology
Excavation period 2021
The Department of Antiquities, Ministry of Transport, Communications and Works, announces the completion of the 2021 excavation season of the Universities of Warsaw and Krakow in cooperation with the Warsaw University of Technology, in Kato Paphos under the direction of Professor Ewdoksia Papuci-Władyka. MA-P Maloutena and Agora in the layout of Paphos: modeling the cityscape of the Hellenistic and Roman Capital of Cyprus. The collaborating institutions are also the Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts (WAFA) and the Wrocław University of Technology.
In 2021, two periods of excavation and material study took place.
The spring period (31 March - 18 July) was aimed at studying archaeological material from previous excavations and preparing it for publication, as well as completing the excavation of the trial excavation sections in the Malouten area, in which a total of 17 people participated. We recall that New Paphos was designed on the basis of the Hippodamian urban system, with a grid of streets intersecting each other vertically creating residential islands. One of the main issues on which the mission's research is focused is the verification of this plan, which was suggested by studies carried out many years ago.
The excavation sections TT.I and TT.II aimed to investigate the area of street no. 10, which lies between the House of Theseus and the House of Orpheus as well as its intersections with two other streets. The completion of the survey of the sections did not yield the desired result of revealing the intersections, perhaps due to the building activity of the Roman period.
During the spring period, the documentation by remote sensing and the inventory of architectural details was completed. The mission's conservators completed the conservation of the Roman military shoes of the caligae type that had been discovered in the Agora in 2016.
During the summer-autumn period (18 August - 17 October), the excavations focused on the verification of some key points of the urban planning of the city and involved a total of more than 60 participants. New excavation sections were opened, including three in Maloutena (TT.III, TT.IV, TT.V) and three in Agora (TT.XI, TT.XII and TT.XIII), with the aim of investigating the ancient roads and determining the length of the settlement islands. The objective was partially achieved, since the investigation of sections TT.IV and TT.V at Maloutena, which were crucial for the estimation of the width of the islands, was not completed. Important were the results of the excavation in section TT.III, where the earliest phase of use is associated with the construction of the Hellenistic road A. At the bottom of the section the central sewer was found in good state of preservation, carved into the rock and covered with stone slabs. In cut TT.IX to the south of the Agora, a trench was revealed, which was connected to the road that existed at that point. Cut TT.XI was intended to locate the northern boundary of the North Lodge of the Agora and the P Street that supposedly flanked the square to the north. An important find in the area was the uncovering of the foundation of a massive masonry structure, which may be associated with the northern boundary of the North Lodge of the Agora.
In section TT.XII the main objective was to verify the result of the geomagnetic survey which had shown the remains of a road with column bases in the area, suggesting the existence of a colonnade along the P road. At present, the survey of section TT.XII cannot confirm that it has revealed the remains of a township or settlement island. Cut TT.XII was opened to locate the eastern boundary of the East Market Lodge and its connection to the adjacent street. The remains of a stone pavement discovered may be linked to the existence of a road in this area.
During the same research period, the study and conservation of the pottery material, mainly from the last excavation, was carried out and the study of the material from previous years was continued.
Furthermore, remote sensing and photogrammetric documentation was carried out and issues concerning the 3D reconstruction of the urban landscape of New Paphos in specific periods of its evolution, which is the main objective of the MA-P research project, were discussed with architects and archaeologists.
During the same period, the coins discovered during the two years 2020-2021 were conserved at the Paphos Museum.
During the same period, the coins discovered during the two years 2020-2021 were conserved at the Paphos Museum. A first assessment of the needs for the conservation of the architectural finds in the Maloutena area was also carried out.
Finally, the collective archaeological activities related to the preparation of the cooperation with local communities, which will be implemented from 2022, were launched. The project was widely promoted in the Cypriot and Polish media. This was linked to the official visit of the President of the Republic of Poland Mr. A. Duda and his wife Mrs. A. Kornhauser-Duda, as one of the central points of the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Cyprus and Poland, with the participation, among others, of the Rector of the University of Warsaw Prof. A. Nowak and the Director of the Polish Centre for Mediterranean Archaeology at the University of Warsaw Prof. A. Obłuski. There were also talks on the establishment of the Polish Research Centre in Paphos.
------------------------------ Photos. 1. The President's visit, Archive of the Polish Mission (MA-P)
(MB/EXP)
Contents of this article including associated images are belongs PIO
Views & opinions expressed are those of the author and/or PIO
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