The Athienou Archaeological Project (AAP) is sponsored by Davidson College and directed by Professor Michael K. Toumazou (Department of Classical Studies). In the summer of 1991, the second season of investigations at the site of Athienou-Malloura, Cyprus, was completed and the archaeological survey of the Malloura Valley was initiated. The surface survey was supervised by P. Nick Kardulias (Kenyon College) and Richard W. Yerkes (Ohio State University). The 1991 investigations were financed by Davidson College, The Dumbarton Oaks Foundation, and natives of Athienou who live abroad. This research would not have been possible without the support of the people of Athienou, Mayor Konstantine Sakelos, the Department of Antiquities, Republic of Cyprus (Athanasios Papageorghiou, Director), and the Cyprus American Archaeological Research Institute (CAARI).
The AAP investigations focus on the cultural dynamics of the Malloura Valley during its 8,000 year-long occupational history. The valley is located in south central Cyprus, about halfway between Nikosia and Larnaka (Fig. 1). The local topography consists of chalk hills (Cretaceous to Miocene in age) lying northeast of the Troodos Igneous Massif and south of the Mesaoria Plain. A series of cuestas with southfacing scarps and northerly dip slopes are found here, with irregularities caused by gentle folding and the presence of the Petrofani igneous inlier in the northern portion of the project area (Gass 1960). The flat valley floor and gently rolling hills are drained by a network of intermittent streams that flow north and west to the Yalias River, which is joined by the Pedieos River, and flows eastward into Famagusta Bay. The Malloura Valley lies north of the drainage divide between the Yalias system and the streams that flow southeast into Larnaka Bay. The valley is filled with alluvium and colluvium overlying marls and chalks, with beds of chert confined to the Chalk and Chert Member of the Middle Lapithos Formation, which lies along the axis of an anticline running nw-se across the valley (Gass 1960; Koucky and Bullard 1974). There are some pebble and conglomerate outcrops in the surrounding hills, and nodular limestone and thin lenticular beds of gypsum are also exposed (Koucky and Bullard 1974). The project area lies at about 35 degrees 1 minute N latitude and 33 degrees 30 minutes E longitude, and is in the driest part of the island (annual rainfall is about 15 inches, or 38 cm, but most of this precipitation falls between the months of October and April). The streams only flow between November and June, and unlike the Mesaoria Plain, there is very little underground water in the chalk hills. Summer temperatures average around 30-34 degrees C, while mean winter temperatures are between 16 and 20 degrees C. The valley soils consist of gray and buff colored rendzinas.
The AAP excavations are focused on the Malloura site (Site 1), which covers 260,000 m2 at the confluence of two intermittent streams in the center of the valley. Substantial settlements were established here during the Early Byzantine period (ca. A.D. 330) and the Venetian sub-period of the Frankish period (A.D. 1489-1571). This occupation seems to have extended into the Turkish period, since Malloura appears on a map of Cyprus prepared by Mercator and published in 1606 (cf. Hunt 1982:218). An Archaic-Hellenistic sanctuary (ca. 750-30 B.C.) was located about 80 m west of the Byzantine-Medieval settlements. Many rock-cut tombs dating from the Hellenistic to Early Roman periods (ca. 325 B.C.-A.D. 150) are found to the north and northwest of the Malloura site.
The AAP survey was designed to define the limits of the Malloura site and to document past human use of the landscape in a 20 km2 area around it. Data obtained from the 1991 investigations are used to examine the settlement patterns in the Malloura Valley during the Aceramic Neolithic (8200-5500 B.C.), and the Archaic through Modern periods (750 B.C. until the present).
Between June 7 and June 28, 1991, the 11 survey team members covered 5.5 km2, or 27.5 % of the project area. Crew members were spaced at 10 to 25 m intervals, and artifact densities were recorded for each 40, 50, or 100 m-long transect that was walked over. A total of 13 areas with standing architecture or high artifact densities were designated as sites, and systematic or grab samples were collected depending on the condition of the site. Ground visibility varied from moderate to excellent over the survey area, most of which was covered with barley stubble. However, only two prehistoric components, and a possible third, were recorded. Site 9, a lithic workshop, was discovered on the surface of one of the low ridges that extend eastward from the hills that border the Malloura valley on the west. Cores, large flakes, and a few blades made of pink and weathered white and tan chert were concentrated on the exposed bedrock and thin mantle of soil on the crest of the eastward sloping ridge. The heavily patinated condition of the artifacts, the large size of the flakes, and the dearth (N=2) of ceramics suggest an Aceramic Neolithic cultural affiliation. Microwear analysis of a sample of the assemblage from site 9 is underway, but our preliminary interpretation is that the site served as a workshop where early stages of stone tool production were completed. Formal tools are rare, but elements of both a generalized blade technology and a flake industry are present (cf. Todd 1989:8). Affinities with the Neolithic industries in western Cyprus described by Adovasio et al. (1975) are not clear. Site 9 is located south of the hill known as Chakmaklik ("Hill of Flint" in Turkish), and the chert (or flint) that was processed by the Neolithic inhabitants may have been obtained from nearby chert beds of the Chalk and Chert Member of the Middle Lapithos Formation that outcrop there. The fields on and around Chakmaklik will be surveyed during the 1992 field season.
The other prehistoric component was recorded at the Modern Turkish village of Petrofani (Site 12), where some chipped stone artifacts that may date to the Aceramic Neolithic period were included in the grab samples that were collected around the village and adjacent Turkish cemetery. Site 11, a small lithic scatter 300 m north of Site 9, may also date to the Aceramic Neolithic.
No evidence of Chalcolithic, Bronze Age, or Geometric (Iron Age) period occupation of the Malloura Valley came to light during the 1991 field season. However, examination of a drainage ditch at the north end of the valley revealed the presence of chipped stone flakes and pottery in deeply buried strata (more than 1 m below the present surface). Erosion in the valley has been severe at times, and these materials may be redeposited, but it is possible that buried prehistoric sites may be present beneath the valley floor. A major protohistoric Bronze Age center was located at Athienou Golgoi, just north of the project area (Knapp 1990), and sites that relate to these earlier periods in Cypriot archaeology may be found during subsequent AAP investigations.
The sanctuary on the western edge of the Malloura site (Site 1) was discovered by Melchior de Vogue in 1862 (cf. Cesnola 1877), and was looted in the 1930s. Statues that are believed to have come from the sanctuary date to the Archaic, Classical, and Hellenistic periods. Toumazou was able to relocate the sanctuary during the 1991 field season. AAP Excavation Units (EUs) 4, 10, and 11 (which lie some 80 m west of the Early Byzantine and Late Medieval settlements at Malloura) encountered many looter's pits in the thick deposits.
In EU 11, bedrock with associated Cypro-Archaic artifacts was encountered some 2.5 m below the surface. Most of the sanctuary was exposed in EU 10, lying on a hard-packed layer tentatively dated to the Hellenistic period. Most of the statuary recovered was badly damaged--sometimes by the looters, but mostly by early Christians in Late Antiquity. Several pieces, however, are impressive in their dimensions and/or workmanship. Among these are: (1) a headless statuette of a youth in Egyptianizing style, (2) the left calf of a greater than life-size statue--almost certainly representing Herakles, judging by the remains of the lion's paw attached, and (3) the head of a crowned female votary of the Cyprio-Archaic II (600-475 B.C.) sub-period. The finest piece, although defaced, is the head of a greater than life-size bearded votary, which compares favorably to some of the finest contemporary pieces in the Larnaka and Nikosia Museums; the piece is made of hard, non-local limestone. The few sections of the sanctuary walls discovered in EU 10 do not yet reveal the size or plan of the sanctuary. Investigations during the 1992 field season should rectify this situation, provide clues to the identity of the deities worshiped, and help us understand the history of the sanctuary.
No materials dating to the Archaic period were found outside of the Malloura site during the 1991 survey, but Classical and Hellenistic artifacts were scattered throughout the project area. Northwest of Malloura at Site 2, Magara Tepesi ("Hill of Tombs"), a moderate scatter of Hellenistic and Roman material was found around the looted rock-cut tombs. The floor of one the tombs (Tomb 26) was cleared for mapping. This tomb, approached by a stepped dromos on the east, consisted of a single chamber with three benches cut into the rock. The fill of the tomb was sifted through 7 mm mesh screens and a large number of artifacts that were overlooked by the looters were recovered. These included 24 silver and bronze coins, scraps of metal vessels and nails, silver finger rings, a pair of gold earrings, imported Early Roman lamps, and fragments of at least 150 ceramic vessels dating to the Hellenistic-Early Roman periods (325 B.C.-A.D. 150). Over 1,000 human teeth were recovered (along with copious amounts of human bone fragments) suggesting that no less than 35 individuals were interred in the tomb.
The survey crew found a rich assemblage of Hellenistic (and some Roman) materials near the tombs cut into the rock along the low hill at the northeast edge of Site 1. Most of these artifacts seem to have been scattered by the looters.
Survey of tracts located southwest of the Malloura site below the Exovouyes mesa revealed a long, narrow concentration of Hellenistic (and possibly Classical) sherds near a rock-cut feature that may be a tomb. This possible tomb (Site 7) lies some 740 m southwest of Malloura (Site 1), but no other concentrations of Classical or Hellenistic materials were documented between the two sites. In fact, artifact density dropped off dramatically in areas that were surveyed outside of the limits of Site 1. While there are hundreds of Hellenistic-Roman tombs in the Malloura Valley, so far, the only evidence that we have found for habitation in the region during those periods has come from the Malloura site proper.
Several excavation units at Site 1 contain the remains of Late Roman/Early Byzantine structures underlying the Late Medieval (Venetian) settlement. In EU 3, along the southern slope of the knoll overlooking an intermittent stream in the SE quadrant of the site, further exploration of the Late Roman/Early Byzantine structure discovered during the 1990 field season was hampered by the discovery of a Venetian house and associated well (see below). Approximately 15 m to the east in EU 5, another Late Roman/Early Byzantine building was discovered. This building is rather well preserved, although it was damaged by a Late Medieval pit that robbed out many of its stones. Its two exposed walls, which are of dry stone construction, are ca. 0.65 m thick and meet at right angles. A one-meter deep sondage along the south face of the main e-w wall failed to find a floor or to define the actual preserved height of the wall. The pottery associated with the building included imported African Red Slip and Pompeian Red wares. Further exploration of this area during the 1992 field season should provide a more precise date for the structure and may shed some light on the function of the building.
Materials dating to the Late Roman/Early Byzantine occupation of the Malloura Valley are not as common as Late Byzantine and Venetian artifacts in the survey tracts. There is, however, a light but constant distribution of Roman and Byzantine materials in the fields around the Turkish village of Petrofani (Site 12) in the northern portion of the project area, but it does not appear that Petrofani was the site of a substantial Late Roman/Early Byzantine settlement.
The Late Medieval occupation at Malloura Site 1 was quite substantial. In EU 2 on the western periphery of the settlement, additional portions of a large industrial structure were exposed during the 1991 field season. To date, 10 evenly spaced cross-walls ca. 0.50 m thick have been found that traverse the main n-s wall (exposed in 1990). The eastern ends of the cross-walls have not been found yet, but they have been traced to their juncture with the western exterior wall of the building. The northern, southern, and eastern limits of the structure have not been reached, but 54 m2 (a 9m x 6m area) of the building have been exposed. During the excavations, fragmentary slabs of gypsum and countless scraps of decomposed wood were encountered between the cross-walls, but never above them. The gypsum slabs seem to have served as a vertical lining of the cross-walls. The channels formed by the cross-walls probably contained some sort of liquid and were capped by wooden planks. Very little pottery was recovered from the fill of the structure, but several sgraffito bowls and two nearly complete cooking pots were found at the level of the top of the cross-walls. The artifacts would date the building to the late 15th-early 16th centuries (during the time of the Venetian occupation of Cyprus), but the function of the structure remains something of a mystery. Nonetheless, the paucity of domestic artifacts in the fill of the building and its architectural features suggest that this was an industrial structure.
Some 180 m northeast of this industrial structure, in EU 3, another building was found that dates to the Venetian sub-period. The structure was encountered at a depth of only 30 cm below the surface, and lies above one of the Late Roman/Early Byzantine structures (see above). The walls of the Late Medieval structure are badly preserved, but its slab-paved floor, with clear differentiation into separate compartments, is largely intact. The dressed stone floor is crossed by a drain running south to the intermittent stream (that flows to the west) below. The impressive dimensions and construction features of the structure suggest that this was the home of a wealthy family. An 8.5 m deep well cut into bedrock was discovered near this house. The upper 1.2 m of the well were stone-lined and plastered with waterproof cement. The well was capped with a large stone slab and contained nearly 1.5 m of water that tasted better than the water that is presently available in Athienou!
On a small knoll halfway between these two Late Medieval structures, excavations in EU 6 revealed portions of a thick wall that had been severely truncated by plowing and recent bulldozing operations. On either side of the wall, in an area covering no more than 16 m2, the skeletal remains of at least 14 individuals were exposed. The burials included both adults and infants, and while many were fully articulated, some were badly disturbed by the plow or the bulldozer. Most of the burials were oriented e-w, but some were oriented other ways. Grave goods were sparse (mostly pedestaled bowls) but they suggest that the burials date to the late 15th and early 16th centuries, i.e., they are contemporary with the buildings in EU 2 and EU 3.
Systematic surface collections at Malloura Site 1 documented a heavy concentration of Late Medieval materials between EU 2 and EU 5. Artifact density drops off dramatically at about 80 m from the center of the site in all directions, but there is a consistent background scatter of artifacts up to 1 km from the site. Several large millstones were found in or near the intermittent streams that cross Site 1 suggesting that there was a substantial milling operation here during the Venetian sub-period. Nearly a kilometer south of the site, along a track that also runs through Malloura, a circular stone building was recorded (Site 6). No diagnostic artifacts were found, but this seems to be an industrial structure (possibly a kiln of some sort). This site may be associated with the Late Medieval occupation of the valley, but this hypothesis remains to be confirmed. About 0.75 km east of Malloura on the top of Sklinikos hill, a light scatter of nondescript sherds was recorded (Site 5). The occupation may be contemporary with the Late Roman/Early Byzantine or Late Medieval settlements at Malloura (or it may date to an earlier period). At Petrofani, several standing structures have stone walls that exhibit fine workmanship and may date to the Venetian sub-phase. This has not been confirmed by independent dating, but Late Medieval ceramics were fairly common in the collections from the village. Further investigations are needed to determine if the Medieval occupations at Malloura and Petrofani were contemporary.
The survey also recorded two abandoned mud brick structures (Sites 3 and 13), the ruins of a stone structure (Site 4), and a dump (Site 8), all associated with Modern artifacts or trash. A scatter of lithic artifacts (Site 10) was recorded on the next ridge north of Site 9 (the Aceramic Neolithic workshop) within the Chalk and Chert Member of the Middle Lapithos Formation. Site 10 contained recent-looking flints that may mark the location where a threshing sledge was prepared.
During the survey of the village of Petrofani (Site 12), the team recorded architectural details of the standing structures. Usually a stone socle supports mudbrick walls which are plastered on the interior and exterior. A number of compounds that consist of one or two story houses, a large courtyard, and outbuildings for storage and animal pens are present in the village. According to a local informant, nearly 150 Turks lived here until 1974 when they were removed to the Turkish-occupied areas in northern Cyprus. Since then, Greek farmers from Athienou have used the buildings to shelter sheep and goats. Most of these standing structures seem to date to the Modern period, but parts of older buildings may have been incorporated into their construction. As mentioned above, some of the foundation walls may date to the Venetian sub-period, and parts of other buildings may been have built during the Turkish period. Outlying mud brick houses, such as Site 13, and a mud brick well house located 300 m to the south, were probably associated with the modern (and earlier?) occupation of Petrofani.
Data obtained during the 1991 AAP investigations indicate that the prehistoric occupation of the Malloura Valley was rather transient in nature. However, it is possible that buried components lie beneath or within the alluvium and colluvium deposits near the intermittent streams. During the Archaic, Classical, and Hellenistic periods, the only evidence for occupation in the valley has been found at ritual and mortuary sites. Malloura Site 1 seems to have been the center of occupation during the Roman, Byzantine, and Venetian periods, but the survey data indicate that there was widespread use of the valley during Late Antiquity. This situation is analogous to the modern pattern in which the residents of large nucleated rural settlements have access to the surrounding fields. A mixed economy of cultivation and herding was probably practiced. The confluence of the intermittent streams at Malloura, and the series of wells associated with the drainage system made this a good location for an agricultural settlement; the streams could also provide water and hydraulic power for milling operations and other industrial activities. Future AAP investigations will help us refine the settlement dynamics of the Malloura Valley and to put the components at Athienou Malloura into their local and regional archaeological contexts.
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Michael K. Toumazou
Dept. of Classical Studies
Davidson College
Davidson, North Carolina 28036
Richard W. Yerkes
Department of Anthropology
The Ohio State University
Columbus, Ohio 43210
P. Nick Kardulias
Department of Anthropology and Sociology
Kenyon College
Gambier, Ohio 43022