The Department of Antiquities, Ministry of Transport, Communications and Works announces the completion of the surface survey conducted by the Kalavasos-Larumenes and Archangelos (K-LAARP) Archaeological Research Project under the direction of Dr. Mara Horowitz at these two sites in Kalavasos. K-LAARP surveyed the plateaus in the hills northwest of Kalavaso in July 2022 and recorded significant archaeological remains from the Middle Bronze Age (ca. 2000-1650 BC), particularly the little-known transitional phase between the Middle and Late Bronze Age (ca. 1650-1050 BC). These sites, located approximately 0.25 km northwest of Kalavasos, had been identified by the Royal River Valley Survey Programme as containing abundant Middle Bronze Age and, in some fragments, Late Bronze Age artefacts. Limited excavations in 1993 by Dr I. Todd also revealed architectural remains of the Middle Bronze Age at Larumeni, including substantial walls one metre thick, a phenomenon extremely unusual for that period.
In 2022, K-LAARP re-located previous excavations and identified architectural remains and features visible on the surface and eroded slopes at both sites, while evaluating the data for possible future excavation. The presence of Early Late Bronze Age ceramics, such as the "Early-Late Bronze Age Rhythm" confirmed the dating of a newly discovered structure at the Archangel site to this critical transitional period. Abundant fragments of extremely large Middle Bronze Age Red-Crystalline Rhythm stones were observed at both sites, confirming previous investigations that found that the Archangelos and Larumenes sites had far more large jars than any other Middle Bronze Age site in the Vasilikos Valley and thus, much greater storage potential. The goal of K-LAARP is to study changes in social systems in Cyprus during the transition from the Middle to the Late Bronze Age through data related to public architecture and centralized storage. The sites Larumena and Archangelos should be ancestral to the rich Late Bronze Age city at Agios Dimitrios in Kalavasos.
Images:
Image 1: New localized wall, cleared of grass, site Larumena.
Image 2: Stone elements on the road, site Larumena.
Image 2: Stone elements on the road, site Larumena.
Figure 3: Ostraco Early-White-glazed pottery, site Archangelos.
Figure 4: Middle Bronze Age III-Late Bronze Age IA construction, site Archangelos.
Figure 4: Middle Bronze Age III-Late Bronze Age IA construction, site Archangelos.
(NG/EXP)
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