Archaeologists dig up 10,000-year-old skeleton

A FRENCH archaeological team has discovered the earliest human remains ever found in Cyprus, with a skeleton dated back to the eighth millennium before Christ.

An announcement from the Department of Antiquities yesterday announced the results of the 1998 dig at Pareklisia Shillourokambos, which included the 10,000-year-old skeletal remains.

These were found in a large trench, which also contained other remains, and may have been a communal burial place. The bones found were those of a male.

The French Archaeological Mission, led by Jean Guilaine of the University of Toulouse, also excavated four wells at the neolithic settlement, unearthing stone tools, fragments of mudbrick, stone vessels and a carved basin.

Also found was a small clay human figurine believed to date from the 8th millennium BC.

The neolithic settlement was occupied between 8200 and 7000 BC.

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