NEA PAPHOS CONFERENCE III
ANOTHER ACROPOLIS OF PAPHOS: FABRIKA HILL AND BEYOND
ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL STUDIES
Abstracts
Marina Solomidou-Ieronimidou (Director of the Department of Antiquities of Cyprus)
Keynote Lecture: The Masterplan of the archaeological site of Paphos: current works and projects
Claire Balandier and Matthieu Guintrand
L’enceinte de Nea Paphos : apports des fouilles récentes sur les remparts Est et Nord
Eustathios Raptou
Les fouilles préventives du secteur de la porte Nord-Est de Nea Paphos
Manuel Tastayre and Cyril Abellan
Alimentation et gestion de l’eau sur la colline de Fabrika des Ptolémées aux Romains
Claire Balandier
De Nea Paphos à Sebaste Claudia Flavia Paphos. “Fabrika Hill and beyond”: réflexions au terme de quinze années de fouilles de la Mission archéologique française à Paphos (2008-2022)
Filippo Giudice, Elvia Giudice and Giada Giudice
A new hypogean chamber at the sanctuary of Apollo in Toumpallos at Nea Paphos
Henryk Meyza
Aspects of the stratigraphy of the Villa of Theseus
Polish excavations at Kato Paphos Maloutena continue with few breaks since 1965 and therefore were conducted under evolving paradigms of research and using various methods of documentation. These differences are particularly reflected in two aspects of available data: information gathered about stratigraphy of the site and selection of finds preserved for later study and storage. During many years the principal aim was to present consistent image of the building and W.A. Daszewski has published first attempt of only a chronological study of the Villa published in Polish in 1992 (updated in 1998) by Medeksza provided functional analysis of development and phasing of this residence. Only now studies of available data place stratigraphy in its prime place to understand
Barbara Lichocka
The spatial and chronological distribution of coins found at the Villa of Theseus at Nea Paphos, Maloutena
Late Roman Villa of Theseus, the largest residence discovered at Nea Paphos, partially covered the ruins of earlier structures and parts of Hellenistic streets. Coins found during archaeological exploration in the area of the Villa and its immediate vicinity come from the Hellenistic, Roman and early Byzantine periods. Some Islamic coins may reflect the Arab occupation of the area. Only one specimen represents the minting of the Crusader kingdom on the island. However, the issue which is essential for the excavators, that is, whether the coins are from intact strata and can be used as an instrument for dating an archaeological context, is not the main subject of the presentation. It is dedicated mainly to the lost single specimens as reflecting, at least partially, the currency in circulation in various periods. Are they indicative of the social status and economic activity of the inhabitants of the Villa of Theseus and those of the earlier houses? An attempt at clarification of these issues may help in our understanding of the history of the Villa that dominated the residential quarter of Nea Paphos.
Theodoros Mavroyiannis
The Chronology of the ‘House of Dionysos’ at Nea Paphos at the Age of Commodus and the Problem of Its Roman Mosaics through Antioch
Marcin M. Romaniuk
Development of water management in the residential quarter (Maloutena area) of Hellenistic-Roman Nea Paphos: the characteristic and chronology
This presentation outlines the development of water management in the residential quarter (Maloutena area) of Hellenistic-Roman Nea Paphos. It follows the results of studies (project no. 2018/31/N/HS3/03319, financed by the National Science Centre) on the relics of hydrotechnical infrastructure discovered by the Polish Archaeological Mission of the University of Warsaw in 1965-2016. More than 300 analysed water installations – including the underground cisterns, street sewers, pipelines, baths, latrines and numerous others – showed that the organization of the local water system and the water use habits underwent several significant transformations over time in response to the various natural and cultural circumstances. From the simple early Hellenistic system based on the limited resources of water – obtained mainly from the winter rainfalls and sparse local intakes, and covering only the basic needs – to the advanced Roman waterworks providing an abundance of water, sufficient to introduce the heavily-water-consuming, luxury devices like decoration garden pools or baths being the manifestation of Roman culture. In this presentation, an attempt will be made to trace these transformations on the background of the history of the city and the lifestyle of its inhabitants viewed from the hydrological perspective.
Michalina Dzwoniarek-Konieczna
Petrographic and geochemical evidences of use and exchange of the stone materials and objects from Nea Paphos: cases from Maloutena area
Stone artefacts are good markers of exchange directions or trade routes. Detailed studies on their mineralogical and petrographic characteristics with the addition of micropaleontological and geochemical analyzes allow the reconstruction of the economic space of the center through the prism of using this category of artefacts, widely represented in the register of finds in Paphos. They include on a building and decorative materials (i.e., facing slabs, mosaics or architectural detail); utility materials, such as quern, mortaria, bowls, trays; and also sculptures, incense burners, casting moulds for coin flans making or ballistic balls.
It is well known in archaeological practice in Paphos that the building material was mainly of local origin - calcarenite, e.g., from Fabrika hill. In turn, marble was imported from the Greek world and Asia Minor. However, a variety of rock materials were used in Paphos, taking into account their genesis.
During the study, a lot of emphasis was put on differentiation of carbonate material from objects discovered by the Polish Archaeological Mission in the residential district (Maloutena), included i.e., various types of limestones, calcarenites, travertines, dolostones and marbles. In field description and further archaeological research, the raw material (material) has so far been marginal, focusing on functional and typological descriptions or analysis. This study allowed to determine the origin of particularies raw materials, both limestone from various parts of Cyprus (and beyond), as well as marbles or other decorative carbonate rocks (e.g. Thasos Aliki or Naxos, Proconessos, Afrodisias, Larissa, Euboea, Afyon, Hierapolis). This information are complementary with data from analysis of the other finds and allows Paphos to be located in the then economic network.
Ewdoksia Papuci-Władyka, Łukasz Miszk, Anna Kubicka-Sowińska and Wojciech Ostrowski
Where the streets have no name. Ma-P: Preliminary results of the new research on the layout of Nea Paphos
Polish archaeological research in ancient Nea Paphos city, the UNESCO world heritage site, is continuing from 1965. Starting from 2019, the two Polish expeditions, i.e. of the University of Warsaw (UW) and of the Jagiellonian University in Kraków (JU) have been joint. The new research project implemented by this two institutions in cooperation with the Warsaw University of Technology is concentrating on the urban layout of the city with special emphasis on the Maloutena (where the Villa of Theseus, The „Hellenistic” House and the House of Aion are situated) and the Agora sites.
A milestone in the research on the topography and urban layout of Paphos were the findings of the Cypriot archaeologist, Kyriakos Nicolaou, and Polish scientist, Jolanta Młynarczyk. The latter working under the aegis of the UW Polish Centre of the Mediterranean Archaeology, determined that Nea Paphos was founded on the Hippodamian urban plan (1990). The idea of new research on urban layout was born during the work on the first volume of the JU Paphos Agora Project (PAP, 2020) and the plan of the city. PAP's research on the Agora and beyond, and especially the results of the geophysical surveys, made by the University of Hamburg, added new findings and showed e.g. that there are some places where the street grid proposed by Młynarczyk does not coincide with the results of our research.
The new project titled “MA-P Maloutena and Agora in the urban layout of Paphos: Modelling the cityscape of the Hellenistic and Roman capital of Cyprus” is implemented from 2020 and the first preliminary results concerning the urban layout of the city will be presented.
Nikola Babucic, Martina Seifert, Łukasz Miszk, Ewdoksia Papuci-Władyka
All Methods Involved: about the combination of non-invasive and invasive methods in Nea Paphos
Geophysical prospections have been an integral part of archaeological fieldwork in Paphos since 2015, carried out by a team from the University of Hamburg in cooperation with the research team of the Paphos Agora Project of the Jagiellonian University in Krakow. The research focused on the development of the Hellenistic-Roman cityscape and the harbor regions as well as on the economic infrastructure within the available areas of the ancient settlement. The research continued in frames of the new MA-P Maloutena and Agora project (presented in a separate lecture during this conference). The investigation based on previous studies on the urban layout of Nea Paphos and on the scholarly debate about the spatial organization of the Hellenistic and Roman city. The geophysical mapping verified by excavations conducted so far provide a wealth of new information on the settlement structures with a special focus on street organization, economic infrastructures and public buildings, covering a time frame from the late fourth century BC onwards to Byzantine times. Thus, the prospections led to a revision of the city’s spatial organization with regard to the street grid revealing a significant enlargement of the central Agora in the heart of the ancient city. While the former objectives concerned the economic infrastructure of the settlement, future research will take into consideration the entire infrastructure of the site and the residential development of the ancient port city. Core issue will be the enhancement of the range of geophysical non-invasive methods. The paper will present the preliminary results of the interdisciplinary approach and will contribute to further research on the partial reconstruction of the ancient city.
Malgorzata Kazjer, Łukasz Miszk & Kamila Niziolek
Nea Paphos as a cosmopolitan Hellenistic city – some evidence from the East Portico of the Agora
In our paper, we would like to present a deposit of Hellenistic pottery found in the southern part of the East Portico of the Agora in 2016. Special attention will be paid to fine ware pottery (table ware, cosmetic vessels and lamps) which includes a significant number of vessels produced beyond Cyprus. We will define their provenance (presumably Levant, Rhodes, Asia Minor, Egypt, and others). The material will be discussed in the context of the architectural transformation of East Portico as determined by stratigraphic analysis of the trench. The deposit and its context will be interpreted in light of other finds from the Agora and beyond to add new evidence for reconstructing Paphos material culture as a part of the Hellenistic koine.
The material was studied in the framework of the project Sonatina 4 “IMPORTant. A comparative study on Hellenistic and Early Roman fine and semi-fine ware pottery from Nea Paphos and Kourion in Cyprus” financed by National Science Centre, Poland no. 2020/36/C/HS3/00068.
Michal Michalik
What can the well tell? Preliminary considerations about the use of underground water in Nea Paphos based on the data from the Agora
Kamila Nocoń
The Middle and Late Roman cooking pottery from the excavation of the Paphos Agora Project
The Middle and Late Roman (3rd to the 7th century CE) periods are the most enigmatic in the Nea Paphos past, and it seems that the city at that time was full of contrasts of different nature. After several centuries of the prosperity of Nea Pafos, important changes of economic and cultural nature shed new light on the city's history. In many places, no architectural remains have been preserved, and the reconstruction of the life of Paphos inhabitants is possible only based on movable archaeological material, including pottery.
This paper discusses the current ceramic evidence of the Middle and Late Roman cooking pottery excavated between 2011-2019 from the Agora provided by excavations of the Paphos Agora Project of the Jagiellonian University in Kraków. Moreover, the large amount of cooking pottery dated to the MR and LR periods was recorded not only on the Agora but also in the several Trial Trenches (TT IV-VII) excavated in the different localizations of the Archaeological Park in Nea Pafos between years 2017 and 2019.
A new study on the assemblage dated from the 3rd to the 7th century CE shows the diversity of macroscopic fabric groups, forms, and types. These include groups of (1) presumed provenance of the Western Cypriot production centre (2) groups of probably linked to the southern and northern area of Cyprus (3) groups which may be linked to production centres situated outside Cyprus: Asia Minor, Levantine coast, and Africa. In this paper, I would like to focus on the most common macroscopic fabric groups and provide their overview as well as the quantified data of the socio-economic investigation of trends in cooking pottery consumption. That will led us to increase our knowledge concerning supply patterns of this category of pottery between the 3rd and 7th century CE in Nea Paphos.
The study was conducted within the framework of the grant Sonatina 4 (2020/36/C/HS3/00173), founded by the National Science Centre in Poland.
J Richard Green and Craig Barker
Reflections on 25 Years of Excavations at the Paphos Theatre
The Australian Mission to the theatre of Nea Paphos from the University of Sydney conducted its first season of excavations in 1995. Over the intervening 25 years, the excavations have revealed considerable information about the chronological history of the theatre and its surrounding infrastructure, as well as much about post-theatrical activities on the site from Late Antiquity to Medieval and Venetian times, which will be summarised for the presentation.
This paper will reflect on the gradual accumulation of knowledge over the two decades; including how the theatre may have related to other activity on Fabrika and the rest of urban Nea Paphos and the significance of understanding the early construction of the theatre - one of the first public buildings of the ancient city. We will outline some future ambitions for the Paphos Theatre Archaeological Project as we return to the field.
Geoff Stennett and Craig Barker
The Theatre Nymphaeum: Comments on Water Architecture in Paphos
Rachel Klaebe
Wheel ruts, roads and drains – planning and urban development in Nea Paphos near the ancient theatre
Investigations into the wheel ruts on the paved Roman road at the site of the Paphos theatre conducted in 2019 field season, provides insights into traffic use south of the theatre. Methodologies included field surveys, application of basic archaeological techniques (section plans and profiles) and casting moulds. There is heavy use of roads by vehicles but the type of vehicle or wheel construction from the ruts was not able to be determined. Wheel ruts appeared only on the north side of east-west drain suggesting a traffic system which had vehicular use on one side, and pedestrian use on the other. Secondary to the primary research focus of the wheel ruts, preliminary analysis of the road construction and drain systems near the Nymphaeum under the road was conducted. Longitudinally pavers were laid on solid sub-surfaces while horizontally positioned pavers laid above sub-surface voids (drains). The distinctive pattern laying of the pavers suggests a robust maintenance plan for managing drains. The concluding research provides further knowledge of planning and urban development in Nea Paphos.
Simon Young
Virtual and Augmented Reality Models of the Theatre at Nea Paphos
Virtual and Augmented realities (VR and AR) provide researchers with a powerful way to synthesise and present the results of excavation, survey and plans of excavation as a coherent whole. The digital models, when deployed on headsets, mobile devices or desktop computers, are immediately appreciated and grasped by both specialist and non-specialist alike. While immersion within a VR environment allows for an appreciation of scale and engenders a sense of embeddedness (a sense that has arguably only been achievable from an on-site visit up to now), AR allows participants to layer information over the real world, either on or off site. Lithodomos has partnered with the University of Sydney to build a geo-referenced scale model of the theatre at Nea Paphos within two chronological and technical phases. The first technological phase was that of VR phase, and the second phase, now under development adds an AR deployment. The second chronological phase, currently in development, is a model of the theatre in during Hellenistic phase. The Roman-period digital model has already been employed to create a VR application with a narration for publication on the “app stores”, as well as a 16:9 fly-through video that was displayed on a large-scale screen at the Nicholson Museum at Sydney University. The AR phase contemplates the addition of an on-site AR experience (potentially at the theatre itself) with visitors’ mobile devices and an off-site experience for mobile devices and desktop computers. As methods for the deployment of three dimensional models continue to accelerate and diversify, highly detailed rigorously researched reconstruction models of archaeological sites, this paper will argue, will likewise become increasingly essential, especially as focus on visitor and community engagement continues grow in importance for government and heritage site directors and stakeholders.
Craig Barker
Searching for Severan Paphos: The evidence from the theatre
The rise of the Imperial Severan family would have a profound impact upon Cyprus as demonstrated by the heroic bronze of the dynasty’s founder in the Cyprus Museum. Authorities in Cyprus were early supporters of Septimius Severus’ claim to Imperial power and were rewarded when he was installed on the throne with new building programs. As Mitford and others have noted, the dramatic increase in Severan inscriptions compared to previous eras provide indication of profound economic and social activity on the island. Coinage on the island reflects a trend towards associating Imperial cult with pre-existing cult worship of Aphrodite at Palaepaphos.
This paper explores evidence from Paphos of Severan influence. I will argue for a significant increase in infrastructure to the city under the dynasty’s control; including the construction of a colonnade. The paper will re-exam the evidence for a temple dedicated by Septimius Severus and Caracalla in the final decade of the second century and discuss whether this structure may have been located and why. With greater understanding of the urban infrastructure of the road and colonnade around the theatre, we will explore the relationship between Severan Nea Paphos and Severan Palaepaphos and explore why the theatrical quarter was integral to connecting the two. The paper will also examine evidence of a Severan remodelling of the theatre under Caracalla and place that within a broader context of changes to theatre in the East during the early third century.
The paper will ultimately seek to prove that a significant infrastructural remodelling of the city, or at least the eastern part of the city, took place in the late second century and outline why this occurred.
Candace Richards
Mapping Reuse in Nea Paphos
The reuse of architecture across Nea Paphos is a well-known phenomenon. The imported luxury materials of the ancient Roman are dotted throughout the monuments of every period uncovered to date throughout the city. Limestone materials, while not as obvious in their reuse, also often betray a secondary or more uses in their modification and excavated contexts. A new project to map the evidence for reuse throughout Nea Paphos is underway in order to record the ubiquity of this practice as well as determine how and why materials were selected and modified in each phase of the cities development.
This paper presents the methodology employed in mapping reuse across Nea Paphos and how object biographical approaches to recording individual objects in the field contributes to detecting reuse events. Overall this paper will contextualise this study with new approaches to spolia studies and the archaeology of recycling in the Mediterranean region.
Diana Wood Conroy and Emma Conroy
The shock of the ruin: artists and archaeologists at the Paphos Theatre excavations
The inaugural vision of Paphos theatre site director Professor Richard Green in 1996 was to have artists as well as archaeologists involved with excavation. Director Dr Craig Barker has continued this founding idea of a wide intellectual scope across science and the imagination for Australians In Cyprus.
The links between art and archaeology have always been strong since the 19th century through artists drawing and photographing sites to record landscapes and artefactual finds. By the 20th century however the two disciplines separated; an archaeological obsession with evidence-based interpretation and critical analysis of finds allowed little room for an emotional or creative response. But in the 21st century the museum itself has changed its role to offer multiple views of the past, including those of artists, to a wide audience.
Demonstrating a renewed relationship between art and archaeology and envisioning connections between the Cypriot past and the Australian present has been the subject of noted exhibitions held in Sydney, Wollongong and Canberra since 1996, exhibitions that prefigured the work of the 12 artists in the Paphos Powerhouse exhibition Travellers from Australia in Cyprus in 2017, in the European Capital of Cultural festival. This paper explores artistic interactions with the Paphos theatre in many mediums, demonstrating the lineage of technologies from ancient to contemporary. It is presented in the website curated by archaeologist and museum registrar Emma Conroy. https://www.imagesandshadows.org.
Anne Destrooper-Georgiades
Les monnaies des fouilles françaises et australiennes sur la colline de Fabrica. Une première évaluation
Claire Balandier, Jolanta Młynarczk and Mariusz Burdajewicz
Results of the French-Polish excavations on the temple on the top of Fabrika hill
Monika Rekowska
Architectural reconstruction attempts of the temple decoration
Anna Kubicka-Sowinska
Architectural reconstruction of the temple and its cultic surroundings from the rock-cut remains on Fabrika Hill
Claire Balandier and Eric Chabert
Exploration des chambres souterraines de la colline de Fabrika (espaces 1, 5, 6 et 7)
Claire Balandier, Jolanta Młynarczyk and Monika Rekowska
New excavations around the triclinium to the South-West of Fabrika hill
Jolanta Młynarczyk
The bothros to the South of the triclinium
Monika Rekowska, Demetrios Michaelides, Eleonora Gasparini and Patrizio Pensabene
An Architectural Investigation of Reception Spaces in the Roman Domestic Context: The Case of the House of Orpheus at Nea Paphos
Aleksandra Brzozowska-Jawornicka
Architectural decoration in the residences of Nea Paphos – an overview in the light of the Maloutena research
During many years of research in Maloutena, the residential area of ancient Nea Paphos, conducted by the Polish Archaeological Mission of the Warsaw University, several houses were uncovered. The edifices, dated from the early to late Roman times, were heavily destroyed so their layouts are presently not always clear. Apart from the preserved architectural structures many various pieces of architectural decoration were found. Some of them were identified as parts of the edifices from Maloutena, the others were devoid of a clear archaeological context. Nevertheless, they constitute a complex set allowing us to follow the changes and development which occurred in the design of the Paphian residential architecture during several centuries of the late antiquity. The aim of the paper is to present the major types of structural elements which constituted carved architectural embellishment, examples of arrangements typical for the eastern Roman provinces as well as architectural phenomena that seem to be unique for Cyprus.
Claire Balandier
Une basilique byzantine à reliques sur la colline de Fabrika?
Grigoria Ioannou
An early Byzantine cemetery on the top of Fabrika Hill: preliminary bioarchaeological insights to health and disease
Philippe Trélat
Autour des sanctuaires hypogées de Paphos (Agia Solomini et Agios Lambrianos): genèse et fortune de topoï hagiographiques des récits de pèlerinage
Ludivine Voisin
Per miracholo de Dio. Les moines grecs et l'économie à travers la longue histoire médiévale de l'Enkleistra (1204-1537)
Catherine Keane
The ecclesiastical landscape of Nea Paphos
This paper discusses the late antique churches of Nea Paphos, situating them amidst current and future research. By summarising archaeological investigations of the 20th century, a brief overview of the ecclesiastical complexes of Nea Paphos will be provided. Considerations of artistic workshops, architectural decoration, and artefactual material will be compared to other late antique Cypriot sites.
Véronique François
Des ateliers de potiers de Paphos à ceux de Nicosie : circulation des artisans et/ou des modèles aux XIIIe et XIVe siècles
Grâce aux fouilles australiennes de la colline de Fabrika et aux travaux pionniers menés par Demetra Papanikola-Bakirtzi, nous connaissons bien la céramique produite à Paphos et sa région aux XIIIe et XIVe siècles. La récente mise en évidence d’une production contemporaine à Nicosie a révélé l’existence de coupes identiques à celles de Paphos mais fabriquées dans une argile différente. Ces vases en tous points identiques, à l’exception de la pâte, conduisent à s’interroger sur la circulation des potiers et des modèles à Chypre à l’époque des Lusignan.
Giuseppe Immè
The medieval pottery from the excavations of the Italian mission at Garrison’s Camp
Lorenzo Calvelli
Nea Paphos pendant la période de la domination vénitienne de Chypre et dans les premiers temps de la domination ottomane
Claire Balandier, Craig Barker and Eustathios Raptou
Historical thoughts on the urban development of Fabrika Hill and its relationship with the city and suburbs of Nea Paphos
A session summarising key discussions raised during the 2022 colloquium and raising discussion of future areas of research into the history and archaeology of ancient and medieval Nea Paphos and environs.
ANOTHER ACROPOLIS OF PAPHOS: FABRIKA HILL AND BEYOND
ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL STUDIES
Abstracts
Marina Solomidou-Ieronimidou (Director of the Department of Antiquities of Cyprus)
Keynote Lecture: The Masterplan of the archaeological site of Paphos: current works and projects
Claire Balandier and Matthieu Guintrand
L’enceinte de Nea Paphos : apports des fouilles récentes sur les remparts Est et Nord
Eustathios Raptou
Les fouilles préventives du secteur de la porte Nord-Est de Nea Paphos
Manuel Tastayre and Cyril Abellan
Alimentation et gestion de l’eau sur la colline de Fabrika des Ptolémées aux Romains
Claire Balandier
De Nea Paphos à Sebaste Claudia Flavia Paphos. “Fabrika Hill and beyond”: réflexions au terme de quinze années de fouilles de la Mission archéologique française à Paphos (2008-2022)
Filippo Giudice, Elvia Giudice and Giada Giudice
A new hypogean chamber at the sanctuary of Apollo in Toumpallos at Nea Paphos
Henryk Meyza
Aspects of the stratigraphy of the Villa of Theseus
Polish excavations at Kato Paphos Maloutena continue with few breaks since 1965 and therefore were conducted under evolving paradigms of research and using various methods of documentation. These differences are particularly reflected in two aspects of available data: information gathered about stratigraphy of the site and selection of finds preserved for later study and storage. During many years the principal aim was to present consistent image of the building and W.A. Daszewski has published first attempt of only a chronological study of the Villa published in Polish in 1992 (updated in 1998) by Medeksza provided functional analysis of development and phasing of this residence. Only now studies of available data place stratigraphy in its prime place to understand
Barbara Lichocka
The spatial and chronological distribution of coins found at the Villa of Theseus at Nea Paphos, Maloutena
Late Roman Villa of Theseus, the largest residence discovered at Nea Paphos, partially covered the ruins of earlier structures and parts of Hellenistic streets. Coins found during archaeological exploration in the area of the Villa and its immediate vicinity come from the Hellenistic, Roman and early Byzantine periods. Some Islamic coins may reflect the Arab occupation of the area. Only one specimen represents the minting of the Crusader kingdom on the island. However, the issue which is essential for the excavators, that is, whether the coins are from intact strata and can be used as an instrument for dating an archaeological context, is not the main subject of the presentation. It is dedicated mainly to the lost single specimens as reflecting, at least partially, the currency in circulation in various periods. Are they indicative of the social status and economic activity of the inhabitants of the Villa of Theseus and those of the earlier houses? An attempt at clarification of these issues may help in our understanding of the history of the Villa that dominated the residential quarter of Nea Paphos.
Theodoros Mavroyiannis
The Chronology of the ‘House of Dionysos’ at Nea Paphos at the Age of Commodus and the Problem of Its Roman Mosaics through Antioch
Marcin M. Romaniuk
Development of water management in the residential quarter (Maloutena area) of Hellenistic-Roman Nea Paphos: the characteristic and chronology
This presentation outlines the development of water management in the residential quarter (Maloutena area) of Hellenistic-Roman Nea Paphos. It follows the results of studies (project no. 2018/31/N/HS3/03319, financed by the National Science Centre) on the relics of hydrotechnical infrastructure discovered by the Polish Archaeological Mission of the University of Warsaw in 1965-2016. More than 300 analysed water installations – including the underground cisterns, street sewers, pipelines, baths, latrines and numerous others – showed that the organization of the local water system and the water use habits underwent several significant transformations over time in response to the various natural and cultural circumstances. From the simple early Hellenistic system based on the limited resources of water – obtained mainly from the winter rainfalls and sparse local intakes, and covering only the basic needs – to the advanced Roman waterworks providing an abundance of water, sufficient to introduce the heavily-water-consuming, luxury devices like decoration garden pools or baths being the manifestation of Roman culture. In this presentation, an attempt will be made to trace these transformations on the background of the history of the city and the lifestyle of its inhabitants viewed from the hydrological perspective.
Michalina Dzwoniarek-Konieczna
Petrographic and geochemical evidences of use and exchange of the stone materials and objects from Nea Paphos: cases from Maloutena area
Stone artefacts are good markers of exchange directions or trade routes. Detailed studies on their mineralogical and petrographic characteristics with the addition of micropaleontological and geochemical analyzes allow the reconstruction of the economic space of the center through the prism of using this category of artefacts, widely represented in the register of finds in Paphos. They include on a building and decorative materials (i.e., facing slabs, mosaics or architectural detail); utility materials, such as quern, mortaria, bowls, trays; and also sculptures, incense burners, casting moulds for coin flans making or ballistic balls.
It is well known in archaeological practice in Paphos that the building material was mainly of local origin - calcarenite, e.g., from Fabrika hill. In turn, marble was imported from the Greek world and Asia Minor. However, a variety of rock materials were used in Paphos, taking into account their genesis.
During the study, a lot of emphasis was put on differentiation of carbonate material from objects discovered by the Polish Archaeological Mission in the residential district (Maloutena), included i.e., various types of limestones, calcarenites, travertines, dolostones and marbles. In field description and further archaeological research, the raw material (material) has so far been marginal, focusing on functional and typological descriptions or analysis. This study allowed to determine the origin of particularies raw materials, both limestone from various parts of Cyprus (and beyond), as well as marbles or other decorative carbonate rocks (e.g. Thasos Aliki or Naxos, Proconessos, Afrodisias, Larissa, Euboea, Afyon, Hierapolis). This information are complementary with data from analysis of the other finds and allows Paphos to be located in the then economic network.
Ewdoksia Papuci-Władyka, Łukasz Miszk, Anna Kubicka-Sowińska and Wojciech Ostrowski
Where the streets have no name. Ma-P: Preliminary results of the new research on the layout of Nea Paphos
Polish archaeological research in ancient Nea Paphos city, the UNESCO world heritage site, is continuing from 1965. Starting from 2019, the two Polish expeditions, i.e. of the University of Warsaw (UW) and of the Jagiellonian University in Kraków (JU) have been joint. The new research project implemented by this two institutions in cooperation with the Warsaw University of Technology is concentrating on the urban layout of the city with special emphasis on the Maloutena (where the Villa of Theseus, The „Hellenistic” House and the House of Aion are situated) and the Agora sites.
A milestone in the research on the topography and urban layout of Paphos were the findings of the Cypriot archaeologist, Kyriakos Nicolaou, and Polish scientist, Jolanta Młynarczyk. The latter working under the aegis of the UW Polish Centre of the Mediterranean Archaeology, determined that Nea Paphos was founded on the Hippodamian urban plan (1990). The idea of new research on urban layout was born during the work on the first volume of the JU Paphos Agora Project (PAP, 2020) and the plan of the city. PAP's research on the Agora and beyond, and especially the results of the geophysical surveys, made by the University of Hamburg, added new findings and showed e.g. that there are some places where the street grid proposed by Młynarczyk does not coincide with the results of our research.
The new project titled “MA-P Maloutena and Agora in the urban layout of Paphos: Modelling the cityscape of the Hellenistic and Roman capital of Cyprus” is implemented from 2020 and the first preliminary results concerning the urban layout of the city will be presented.
Nikola Babucic, Martina Seifert, Łukasz Miszk, Ewdoksia Papuci-Władyka
All Methods Involved: about the combination of non-invasive and invasive methods in Nea Paphos
Geophysical prospections have been an integral part of archaeological fieldwork in Paphos since 2015, carried out by a team from the University of Hamburg in cooperation with the research team of the Paphos Agora Project of the Jagiellonian University in Krakow. The research focused on the development of the Hellenistic-Roman cityscape and the harbor regions as well as on the economic infrastructure within the available areas of the ancient settlement. The research continued in frames of the new MA-P Maloutena and Agora project (presented in a separate lecture during this conference). The investigation based on previous studies on the urban layout of Nea Paphos and on the scholarly debate about the spatial organization of the Hellenistic and Roman city. The geophysical mapping verified by excavations conducted so far provide a wealth of new information on the settlement structures with a special focus on street organization, economic infrastructures and public buildings, covering a time frame from the late fourth century BC onwards to Byzantine times. Thus, the prospections led to a revision of the city’s spatial organization with regard to the street grid revealing a significant enlargement of the central Agora in the heart of the ancient city. While the former objectives concerned the economic infrastructure of the settlement, future research will take into consideration the entire infrastructure of the site and the residential development of the ancient port city. Core issue will be the enhancement of the range of geophysical non-invasive methods. The paper will present the preliminary results of the interdisciplinary approach and will contribute to further research on the partial reconstruction of the ancient city.
Malgorzata Kazjer, Łukasz Miszk & Kamila Niziolek
Nea Paphos as a cosmopolitan Hellenistic city – some evidence from the East Portico of the Agora
In our paper, we would like to present a deposit of Hellenistic pottery found in the southern part of the East Portico of the Agora in 2016. Special attention will be paid to fine ware pottery (table ware, cosmetic vessels and lamps) which includes a significant number of vessels produced beyond Cyprus. We will define their provenance (presumably Levant, Rhodes, Asia Minor, Egypt, and others). The material will be discussed in the context of the architectural transformation of East Portico as determined by stratigraphic analysis of the trench. The deposit and its context will be interpreted in light of other finds from the Agora and beyond to add new evidence for reconstructing Paphos material culture as a part of the Hellenistic koine.
The material was studied in the framework of the project Sonatina 4 “IMPORTant. A comparative study on Hellenistic and Early Roman fine and semi-fine ware pottery from Nea Paphos and Kourion in Cyprus” financed by National Science Centre, Poland no. 2020/36/C/HS3/00068.
Michal Michalik
What can the well tell? Preliminary considerations about the use of underground water in Nea Paphos based on the data from the Agora
Kamila Nocoń
The Middle and Late Roman cooking pottery from the excavation of the Paphos Agora Project
The Middle and Late Roman (3rd to the 7th century CE) periods are the most enigmatic in the Nea Paphos past, and it seems that the city at that time was full of contrasts of different nature. After several centuries of the prosperity of Nea Pafos, important changes of economic and cultural nature shed new light on the city's history. In many places, no architectural remains have been preserved, and the reconstruction of the life of Paphos inhabitants is possible only based on movable archaeological material, including pottery.
This paper discusses the current ceramic evidence of the Middle and Late Roman cooking pottery excavated between 2011-2019 from the Agora provided by excavations of the Paphos Agora Project of the Jagiellonian University in Kraków. Moreover, the large amount of cooking pottery dated to the MR and LR periods was recorded not only on the Agora but also in the several Trial Trenches (TT IV-VII) excavated in the different localizations of the Archaeological Park in Nea Pafos between years 2017 and 2019.
A new study on the assemblage dated from the 3rd to the 7th century CE shows the diversity of macroscopic fabric groups, forms, and types. These include groups of (1) presumed provenance of the Western Cypriot production centre (2) groups of probably linked to the southern and northern area of Cyprus (3) groups which may be linked to production centres situated outside Cyprus: Asia Minor, Levantine coast, and Africa. In this paper, I would like to focus on the most common macroscopic fabric groups and provide their overview as well as the quantified data of the socio-economic investigation of trends in cooking pottery consumption. That will led us to increase our knowledge concerning supply patterns of this category of pottery between the 3rd and 7th century CE in Nea Paphos.
The study was conducted within the framework of the grant Sonatina 4 (2020/36/C/HS3/00173), founded by the National Science Centre in Poland.
J Richard Green and Craig Barker
Reflections on 25 Years of Excavations at the Paphos Theatre
The Australian Mission to the theatre of Nea Paphos from the University of Sydney conducted its first season of excavations in 1995. Over the intervening 25 years, the excavations have revealed considerable information about the chronological history of the theatre and its surrounding infrastructure, as well as much about post-theatrical activities on the site from Late Antiquity to Medieval and Venetian times, which will be summarised for the presentation.
This paper will reflect on the gradual accumulation of knowledge over the two decades; including how the theatre may have related to other activity on Fabrika and the rest of urban Nea Paphos and the significance of understanding the early construction of the theatre - one of the first public buildings of the ancient city. We will outline some future ambitions for the Paphos Theatre Archaeological Project as we return to the field.
Geoff Stennett and Craig Barker
The Theatre Nymphaeum: Comments on Water Architecture in Paphos
Rachel Klaebe
Wheel ruts, roads and drains – planning and urban development in Nea Paphos near the ancient theatre
Investigations into the wheel ruts on the paved Roman road at the site of the Paphos theatre conducted in 2019 field season, provides insights into traffic use south of the theatre. Methodologies included field surveys, application of basic archaeological techniques (section plans and profiles) and casting moulds. There is heavy use of roads by vehicles but the type of vehicle or wheel construction from the ruts was not able to be determined. Wheel ruts appeared only on the north side of east-west drain suggesting a traffic system which had vehicular use on one side, and pedestrian use on the other. Secondary to the primary research focus of the wheel ruts, preliminary analysis of the road construction and drain systems near the Nymphaeum under the road was conducted. Longitudinally pavers were laid on solid sub-surfaces while horizontally positioned pavers laid above sub-surface voids (drains). The distinctive pattern laying of the pavers suggests a robust maintenance plan for managing drains. The concluding research provides further knowledge of planning and urban development in Nea Paphos.
Simon Young
Virtual and Augmented Reality Models of the Theatre at Nea Paphos
Virtual and Augmented realities (VR and AR) provide researchers with a powerful way to synthesise and present the results of excavation, survey and plans of excavation as a coherent whole. The digital models, when deployed on headsets, mobile devices or desktop computers, are immediately appreciated and grasped by both specialist and non-specialist alike. While immersion within a VR environment allows for an appreciation of scale and engenders a sense of embeddedness (a sense that has arguably only been achievable from an on-site visit up to now), AR allows participants to layer information over the real world, either on or off site. Lithodomos has partnered with the University of Sydney to build a geo-referenced scale model of the theatre at Nea Paphos within two chronological and technical phases. The first technological phase was that of VR phase, and the second phase, now under development adds an AR deployment. The second chronological phase, currently in development, is a model of the theatre in during Hellenistic phase. The Roman-period digital model has already been employed to create a VR application with a narration for publication on the “app stores”, as well as a 16:9 fly-through video that was displayed on a large-scale screen at the Nicholson Museum at Sydney University. The AR phase contemplates the addition of an on-site AR experience (potentially at the theatre itself) with visitors’ mobile devices and an off-site experience for mobile devices and desktop computers. As methods for the deployment of three dimensional models continue to accelerate and diversify, highly detailed rigorously researched reconstruction models of archaeological sites, this paper will argue, will likewise become increasingly essential, especially as focus on visitor and community engagement continues grow in importance for government and heritage site directors and stakeholders.
Craig Barker
Searching for Severan Paphos: The evidence from the theatre
The rise of the Imperial Severan family would have a profound impact upon Cyprus as demonstrated by the heroic bronze of the dynasty’s founder in the Cyprus Museum. Authorities in Cyprus were early supporters of Septimius Severus’ claim to Imperial power and were rewarded when he was installed on the throne with new building programs. As Mitford and others have noted, the dramatic increase in Severan inscriptions compared to previous eras provide indication of profound economic and social activity on the island. Coinage on the island reflects a trend towards associating Imperial cult with pre-existing cult worship of Aphrodite at Palaepaphos.
This paper explores evidence from Paphos of Severan influence. I will argue for a significant increase in infrastructure to the city under the dynasty’s control; including the construction of a colonnade. The paper will re-exam the evidence for a temple dedicated by Septimius Severus and Caracalla in the final decade of the second century and discuss whether this structure may have been located and why. With greater understanding of the urban infrastructure of the road and colonnade around the theatre, we will explore the relationship between Severan Nea Paphos and Severan Palaepaphos and explore why the theatrical quarter was integral to connecting the two. The paper will also examine evidence of a Severan remodelling of the theatre under Caracalla and place that within a broader context of changes to theatre in the East during the early third century.
The paper will ultimately seek to prove that a significant infrastructural remodelling of the city, or at least the eastern part of the city, took place in the late second century and outline why this occurred.
Candace Richards
Mapping Reuse in Nea Paphos
The reuse of architecture across Nea Paphos is a well-known phenomenon. The imported luxury materials of the ancient Roman are dotted throughout the monuments of every period uncovered to date throughout the city. Limestone materials, while not as obvious in their reuse, also often betray a secondary or more uses in their modification and excavated contexts. A new project to map the evidence for reuse throughout Nea Paphos is underway in order to record the ubiquity of this practice as well as determine how and why materials were selected and modified in each phase of the cities development.
This paper presents the methodology employed in mapping reuse across Nea Paphos and how object biographical approaches to recording individual objects in the field contributes to detecting reuse events. Overall this paper will contextualise this study with new approaches to spolia studies and the archaeology of recycling in the Mediterranean region.
Diana Wood Conroy and Emma Conroy
The shock of the ruin: artists and archaeologists at the Paphos Theatre excavations
The inaugural vision of Paphos theatre site director Professor Richard Green in 1996 was to have artists as well as archaeologists involved with excavation. Director Dr Craig Barker has continued this founding idea of a wide intellectual scope across science and the imagination for Australians In Cyprus.
The links between art and archaeology have always been strong since the 19th century through artists drawing and photographing sites to record landscapes and artefactual finds. By the 20th century however the two disciplines separated; an archaeological obsession with evidence-based interpretation and critical analysis of finds allowed little room for an emotional or creative response. But in the 21st century the museum itself has changed its role to offer multiple views of the past, including those of artists, to a wide audience.
Demonstrating a renewed relationship between art and archaeology and envisioning connections between the Cypriot past and the Australian present has been the subject of noted exhibitions held in Sydney, Wollongong and Canberra since 1996, exhibitions that prefigured the work of the 12 artists in the Paphos Powerhouse exhibition Travellers from Australia in Cyprus in 2017, in the European Capital of Cultural festival. This paper explores artistic interactions with the Paphos theatre in many mediums, demonstrating the lineage of technologies from ancient to contemporary. It is presented in the website curated by archaeologist and museum registrar Emma Conroy. https://www.imagesandshadows.org.
Anne Destrooper-Georgiades
Les monnaies des fouilles françaises et australiennes sur la colline de Fabrica. Une première évaluation
Claire Balandier, Jolanta Młynarczk and Mariusz Burdajewicz
Results of the French-Polish excavations on the temple on the top of Fabrika hill
Monika Rekowska
Architectural reconstruction attempts of the temple decoration
Anna Kubicka-Sowinska
Architectural reconstruction of the temple and its cultic surroundings from the rock-cut remains on Fabrika Hill
Claire Balandier and Eric Chabert
Exploration des chambres souterraines de la colline de Fabrika (espaces 1, 5, 6 et 7)
Claire Balandier, Jolanta Młynarczyk and Monika Rekowska
New excavations around the triclinium to the South-West of Fabrika hill
Jolanta Młynarczyk
The bothros to the South of the triclinium
Monika Rekowska, Demetrios Michaelides, Eleonora Gasparini and Patrizio Pensabene
An Architectural Investigation of Reception Spaces in the Roman Domestic Context: The Case of the House of Orpheus at Nea Paphos
Aleksandra Brzozowska-Jawornicka
Architectural decoration in the residences of Nea Paphos – an overview in the light of the Maloutena research
During many years of research in Maloutena, the residential area of ancient Nea Paphos, conducted by the Polish Archaeological Mission of the Warsaw University, several houses were uncovered. The edifices, dated from the early to late Roman times, were heavily destroyed so their layouts are presently not always clear. Apart from the preserved architectural structures many various pieces of architectural decoration were found. Some of them were identified as parts of the edifices from Maloutena, the others were devoid of a clear archaeological context. Nevertheless, they constitute a complex set allowing us to follow the changes and development which occurred in the design of the Paphian residential architecture during several centuries of the late antiquity. The aim of the paper is to present the major types of structural elements which constituted carved architectural embellishment, examples of arrangements typical for the eastern Roman provinces as well as architectural phenomena that seem to be unique for Cyprus.
Claire Balandier
Une basilique byzantine à reliques sur la colline de Fabrika?
Grigoria Ioannou
An early Byzantine cemetery on the top of Fabrika Hill: preliminary bioarchaeological insights to health and disease
Philippe Trélat
Autour des sanctuaires hypogées de Paphos (Agia Solomini et Agios Lambrianos): genèse et fortune de topoï hagiographiques des récits de pèlerinage
Ludivine Voisin
Per miracholo de Dio. Les moines grecs et l'économie à travers la longue histoire médiévale de l'Enkleistra (1204-1537)
Catherine Keane
The ecclesiastical landscape of Nea Paphos
This paper discusses the late antique churches of Nea Paphos, situating them amidst current and future research. By summarising archaeological investigations of the 20th century, a brief overview of the ecclesiastical complexes of Nea Paphos will be provided. Considerations of artistic workshops, architectural decoration, and artefactual material will be compared to other late antique Cypriot sites.
Véronique François
Des ateliers de potiers de Paphos à ceux de Nicosie : circulation des artisans et/ou des modèles aux XIIIe et XIVe siècles
Grâce aux fouilles australiennes de la colline de Fabrika et aux travaux pionniers menés par Demetra Papanikola-Bakirtzi, nous connaissons bien la céramique produite à Paphos et sa région aux XIIIe et XIVe siècles. La récente mise en évidence d’une production contemporaine à Nicosie a révélé l’existence de coupes identiques à celles de Paphos mais fabriquées dans une argile différente. Ces vases en tous points identiques, à l’exception de la pâte, conduisent à s’interroger sur la circulation des potiers et des modèles à Chypre à l’époque des Lusignan.
Giuseppe Immè
The medieval pottery from the excavations of the Italian mission at Garrison’s Camp
Lorenzo Calvelli
Nea Paphos pendant la période de la domination vénitienne de Chypre et dans les premiers temps de la domination ottomane
Claire Balandier, Craig Barker and Eustathios Raptou
Historical thoughts on the urban development of Fabrika Hill and its relationship with the city and suburbs of Nea Paphos
A session summarising key discussions raised during the 2022 colloquium and raising discussion of future areas of research into the history and archaeology of ancient and medieval Nea Paphos and environs.