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Toumazouís dig near the village of Athienou has become the most prominent site on the whole island. The Cypriot government has been so impressed with Toumazouís work that the site is being declared an ìofficial archeological park,î that will include amenities to accommodate visiting tourists.
The government is also building a museum in the village for display of artifacts found there. The National Science Foundation recently awarded him a $150,000 grant - his fourth award from that agency - to help students finance their participation in the field school he has developed at the site. The three-year grant will cover tuition, living expenses and travel costs for 10 undergraduates each year to join him for hands-on experience that will fully immerse them in the historical and cultural life of an area that has been the crossroads of civilization from the seventh millennium B.C. through modern times.
In addition to the undergraduate students, about 25 other academicians and specialists are involved in the seven-week dig each summer. They include former Davidson students Derek Counts ë92 and Joe Parvis ë92, who went on from Davidson to earn Ph.D.ís and now serve as supervisors for the project. Participants this year will include a bioarcheologist to investigate the finds of animal bones, as well as specialists in ancient glass, metallurgy and geophysics. Davidson chemistry professor Ruth Beeston will also visit to conduct soil analysis and chemical analysis of residues from vessels. Another Davidson participant is Diane Sterling of audiovisual services, who has worked with Toumazou every summer as an administrative assistant.
Undergraduate students receive two academic credits for their digging and associated academic assignments. They rise early each day and trek from the village of Athienou to a nearby field, where they are excavating an area rich in historical material. Their day begins at 6 a.m. and continues under the hot sun until 2 p.m. Diggers comb through the dirt sector by sector, inch by cubic inch, recording every detail of what they find. The afternoons are spent cleaning their finds with water and toothbrushes, marking them and storing them.
Students maintain a day book to record information about the areas where
they dig, the tools they use and tentative interpretations of their finds.
They attend lectures in the evenings, and travel together to another archeological
site or a museum on Sundays. They must present an oral report during one
of their outings about the site theyíre visiting, and they take a final
exam. Each student also develops a major research paper, many of which
have been incorporated into Toumazouís reports on the project, published
in academic journals or presented at professional meetings.
The site covers 2,500 years of Cypriot history, and contains
tombs, a settlement and a sanctuary. The sanctuary, which is the current
center of archeological activity, was established in the seventh century
B.C. and flourished for nearly 1,000 years.
The siteís location in the interior of the country holds a special appeal for Toumazou. He explained, ìArcheologists usually focus on major coastal sites. But studying a site in the interior provides a much better sense of what really went on during a certain time period - how people lived, what they produced and how they worshipped.î
During last summerís dig more than 100 pots were found, as well as hundreds of sculptures from miniature size to life-size. Other finds include four coins, two of which are imprinted with the head of Alexander the Great, stone vessels, utensils such as ash shovels, animal bones from sacrificial rites, beads, clay oil lamps, metal artifacts like pins and nails, and a gold necklace and finger rings.
Toumazou, a native born Cypriote, initiated the dig when people in Athienou told him about pieces of statues and pottery strewn all over their barley fields just outside of town. The area had been looted in the 1930s, and some of the looters were still around to tell him what they had found. His team during that first summer of 1990 consisted of just six people, three Davidson students and two other professional colleagues.
Toumazou said he never dreamed then that it would blossom into such a major endeavor. He said, ìWeíve seen many of our labors come to fruition, not just in terms of changing studentsí lives or careers through the experience, but also making a significant contribution thatís greatly appreciated by the government of Cyprus and the people in the area.î
Toumazou noted that the village of 4,000 inhabitants has fully embraced the project, welcoming the Davidson group every summer ìlike swallows bringing the spring.î He noted that the opportunity for students to be immersed in another culture is as valuable to students as their academic work.
ìWe couldnít do it without the people of the village,î he said. ìThey provide us free housing in a gymnasium and give us a bus at no cost every weekend to visit other sites. The local dairy producers give us an essentially unlimited supply of cheese, and we havenít paid for bread in eight years.î
Almost every weekend students are treated to unlimited food, drink and dancing at an engagement or wedding party, which typically includes more than 2,000 guests.
Toumazou is also proud to note that the cultural exchange is now working in both directions, pointing out that Elena Sakklou, daughter of the Athienouís mayor, enrolled in Davidson last fall as a member of the collegeís Class of 2002.