EXCAVATIONS are underway on an island off the coast of Ayios Georgios tis Peyias in the Paphos district, conducted by the New York University.
In 1982, extensive archaeological remains discovered led to the expropriation of the island as important resource for the cultural heritage of Cyprus. Paphos served as the island’s capital during the Hellenistic period (323-30 BC).
Work began on May 17 in the area along the southern coast of the island, designated as the Central South Complex. All trenches excavated in this area during the 1992-1996 seasons were un backfilled and all remaining baulks were removed.
A continuous ground plan of the Central South Complex can now be observed. It shows a series of roughly square rooms and an open courtyard stretching across an area measuring 19.5 by 14 metres.
Substantial rubble walls uncovered there are oriented along north/south and east/west axes and define a series of rooms measuring five by five metres square. Two of these rooms are equipped with built rubble platforms rising some 40cm above floor level.
Another room shows two substantial stone slabs inscribed with the monogram HG. Along the south side of the complex, a diagonal wall seems to represent a slightly later addition or renovation of the existing structure.
Material recovered from the Central South Complex during previous seasons can be comfortably dated within the years 80-30 BC. An even narrower chronology is likely and it is during the third quarter of the first century BC that the island enjoyed its most robust period of activity.
According to the dig crew, the most significant result of this season’s work was the recovery of the full architectural plan of the South Central Complex. Finds were relatively few and include pottery, glass and small bronze and lead objects.
The ceramic sequence is said to be of particular interest as it shows a wide repertory of shapes and fabrics dated to the middle of the first century BC. These include Cypriote Sigillata fabric, Eastern Sigillata A. fabric, imported moulded relief bowls and our own pink powdery local colour coated ware.
This season also saw the rebuilding of the team’s ascent up the southern cliff of the island. This enterprise resulted in the discovery of a shallow grave at the base of the island where an adolescent or young teenager was buried. The skeleton awaits Carbon 14 analysis to determine its date.
One of the major enterprises of this busy season was the consolidation of all walls and architectural features in the Central South Complex, part of an ongoing program of in situ conservation.
Rubble walls were consolidated with a mortar of lime, sand and cement. Structures were covered with a geo-textile at the close of the season and buried in a light backfilling of earth.
The 2004 season on Ieronisos included the participation of a number of eminent scholars engaged in the study of material excavated from the island.
(Additional information courtesy of http://www.nyu.edu/projects/yeronisos/home2.html)
