NUMEROUS fragments of very large storage jars known as pithoi, dated to the First Century BC, have been unearthed during excavations at the Geronisos Island located just off the coast of Peyeia, Paphos.
The jars, which were most probably used to store olive oil, are among the largest storage vessels found to date on Cyprus, according to experts.
The excavations were conducted by New York University, under the direction of Professor Joan Breton Connelly.
According to a statement by the Department of Antiquities, the excavations began by a team of 18 excavators on May 16, and their efforts focused on the Central Sector of the island where they opened seven 1.5m X 5m trenches along a diagonal axis extending from southwest to northeast.
In the southernmost trench, at the very edge of the island, numerous fragments of very large pithoi were unearthed. One of these could be reassembled to stand to a height of 1.20m. The walls of the pithos are up to 0.05m in thickness.
The area from which the pithoi fragments were removed appears to have been a storeroom or pantry facility, probably servicing a complex of small dining rooms found just to the west of the area in previous excavation seasons.
Experts say the discovery of the storage facility represents an important breakthrough in our understanding of the experience of ancient pilgrims on Geronisos and the ritual dining that seems to have taken place within the complex of rooms in the central south sector of the island.
In addition, a number of broken architectural members have been recovered, including what may be the remains of a stone lion’s head waterspout very similar to one that was unearthed on Geronisos in 1994.
Traces of the lion’s sculptured mane are preserved along with the moulding of what appears to be a cornice or gutter.
The find is further evidence of a lavishly decorated building of great importance on the island. The sculptured lion’s head would have been plastered and painted as a fitting adornment for a monumental structure, possibly a temple.
Excavations in the Central Sector of the island also yielded rich finds from the early Chalcolithic period, ca. 3800 B.C. The finds include a picrolite bead in a “figure eight” design, ground stone tools including a small axe and chisel, as well as quantities of red burnished ware pottery. .
Dr. Jolanda Mlynarczyk of the University of Warsaw continued her study of the late Hellenistic ceramics of Geronisos, while Dr. Mariusz Burdajewicz of the Warsaw Museum continued his study on the glass finds and prepared drawings of the pottery and architecture.
Dr. Richard Anderson, architect of the Agora Excavations in Athens, prepared a new site plan of East Building using a total station laser theodolite, an instrument for measuring both horizontal and vertical angles
Dr. Anderson completed important work on the reconstruction of East Building as the vaulted undercroft of a Christian basilica, most of which has collapsed into the sea with the entire east end of the island.
Christos Tsiorgiannis of Cambridge University participated in the excavations, and Victoria Grinbaum of University College London began a new study of the Geronisos amphorae.
