The study of the traces of painted plaster from the Roman phases of the Paphos theatre by Professor Diana Wood Conroy is one of the most exciting aspects of the Paphos Theatre Archaeological Project. It gives a tantalising glimpse of how colourful antiquity must have been, as well as the creative expression on the walls of the theatre (an old building by the time of the application of the paint brush to the plastered surface of the parodoi in the Antonine phase).

That is why it is exciting to see splashes of colour on old walls now in Ktima Paphos as part of the Pafos2017 festivities.  Street art is reflective of contemporary culture just as the designs on the theatre's wall reflected Roman tastes and styles.  Some of the works exhibited in Paphos are extraordinary.

One can only wonder what future archaeologist will make of the faded traces of the painted walls of Paphos c. 2017.

The Street Art Square Festival was part of Pafos2017 celebrations.

In amongst our more usual finds each season - ceramic sherds, architectural pieces, rusted metals and fragments of glass ancient to modern, there is always something odd.  Something which doesn't quite fit.

Trench 17B this year provided the team with that "odd" object - a cassette tape in one of the upper layers, very close to one of the former farms used as a dig house in the early seasons of the excavations.

​Perhaps it was left there by one of the students in our first mid-1990s seasons.  After all, the walkman was still a popular form of entertainment then, long before digital music platforms.  

The archaeology of archaeology!

Today for the first time in the history of the site, the architecture was recorded from above using a drone.

Despite the use of helicopters and balloons in the past to capture the site from the air, the use of a drone will provide us with stable aerial images.

We shall put some online as soon as they are processed; today despite some wind and bad weather, the flight of the drone went perfectly as can be seen in these photos from the ground!

In 2017 the Paphos Theatre Archaeological Project is proud to announce its 3D virtual reality model of the Antonine (2nd century AD) phase of the theatre of Paphos made by our good friends at LithodomosVR, specialists in reconstructing the ancient world using exciting new technologies.

The 3D model is viewable through VR googles.

The model allows the viewer to explore a hypothetic reconstruction of the ancient theatre from three different view points; the upper cavea, the centre of the orchestra and the eastern side of the orchestra.  The immersive experience is a wonderful means to allow people to experience what the theatre would have been like during this dynamic period in the theatre's history.

The model is also a great example of our commitment towards public engagement with the archaeological process and the remarkable ancient theatre of Paphos.  It was a massive success in the recent exhibition Travellers from Australia.

The Paphos Theatre Archaeological Project is committed to sharing our results with the public.

In October Craig Barker and Diana Wood Conroy published a paper in The Conversation exploring the relationship between archaeology and contemporary visual arts and our artist program.

The paper 'Old sites, new visions: art and archaeology collide in Cyprus' can be read here.

As part of the Pafos2017 European Capital of Culture celebrations we are honoured to contribute the exhibition Travellers from Australia: artists in the ancient Pafos theatre being held at the Palia Ilektriki (Old Powerhouse) in Ktima Paphos.

The exhibition was curated by Diana Wood Conroy and Craig Barker, and features artworks and installations by artists Angela Brennan, Brogan Bunt, Rowan Conroy, Amanda Dusting, Hannah Gee, Penny Harris, Guy Hazell, Stephen Ingham, Derek Kreckler, Bob Miller, Jacky Redgate, Geoff Stennett, Lawrence Wallen, Diana Wood Conroy and LithodomosVR.

The exhibition ranges from photography, metal-working and ceramic to digital media and video projection. 

The exhibition was opened on 2 October by His Excellency Alan Sweetman, the Australian High Commissioner to Cyprus. Thanks to everyone who could come to help us celebrate this special night.

Here are some images from the opening event.

​A few weeks post-dig, in my studio in Australia: my hands are covered in clay and I’m watching this small vessel spiral around on the wheel. I’m picturing it in pieces: the shoulder, the lip, the foot. Will any part of it exist in a thousand years? And what will it say about me?

This was my favourite feeling about the Paphos dig. We were uncovering bits of objects that spoke about a creative process, a moment in time, and the people within it. Furthermore, these objects had been silent, muffled by earth, for centuries at least. Hearing the archaeologists translate this material language – what each fragment was, what time it might have been constructed, and why – was fascinating.

It felt different to the way artists ‘read’ an object. Artists tend to project past experiences and personal associations onto a sculpture or painting, to extract more meaning than the object is capable of supplying. It becomes more about the viewer than the object. In Paphos, details were scrutinised by archaeologists, and sensible conclusions were reached tentatively based on what was there. What was known, either in the ground or in a museum. “Go from the known to the unknown.” The known made the unknown even more exciting.
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With a new appreciation for material agency, I look at what I do. What will disappear in the next millennium, and what will endure? Digital animations seem most stable – lightweight, easily transportable and replicated at zero cost. Yet they could easily become incompatible as technology progresses. Especially once I’m long dead and there’s nobody left from the 21st Century to update them. My drawings will fade, mould and disintegrate like all paper eventually does. 

The ceramic pieces, left as diagnostic or non-diagnostic sherds, might remain. And if some patient fool manages to reassemble them, I ask again, what will my object say? The 24-year-old woman with questionable taste in sweaters who too often quoted The Simpsons won’t be preserved. Future archaeologists will only know we were making pottery in the age of plastic.

With this in mind, I want to imagine a vibrant set of ancient personalities behind the Paphos sherds. The humans who made or used the vessels we found on site were as complex as we are. Bad singers, slow walkers, messy love lives, stinky feet and terrible jokes against a backdrop of Corinthian columns, frescos, Medieval walls, graffiti, and soaring minarets.

There are many more objects – from museums and the Paphos Theatre – yet to be animated. Until then, I must give enormous thanks to the project's fearless leader Craig Barker for such a wonderfully inspirational shot to the system. All the trench supervisors deserve congratulations – not only for their tireless work, but their patience with rookies like myself. And as always, I'm forever grateful for Diana Wood Conroy's guidance, humour and generosity in sharing her life’s experiences. It was the greatest pleasure to step into this story.

Hannah Gee
​Artist and Excavator

Sgraffito.  Animation by Hannah Gee (2016).  View on Vimeo.

Bird CY 2016. Animation by Hannah Gee (2016). View on Vimeo.

Bird and Fish. Animation by Hannah Gee (2016). View on Vimeo.

Aphrodite Drawn Animation, from Paphos District Archaeological Museum, Cyprus. 
​Animation by Hannah Gee (2016).  View on Vimeo.

Alexander. Animation by Hannah Gee (2016). View on Vimeo.