By Dr Bruce Brown
Friday 14 October 2011

Another perfect day in paradise!

Today we bi-podded all the major rocks out of the nymphaeum as well as those we had moved to the Roman road – a total of about 33 in all. So there is now pretty much a free go to clear the nymphaeum and discover what has been under all the rubble.

My specific project this season is to undertake a preliminary physical and chemical assessment of the sediment in the drain alongside the Roman road. Back in 1996 it was discovered that there was a drain in Trench 3A which appeared to run from the nymphaeum to a main drain along the side of the road. The main drain was also found to run into Trench 3B, with an associated feeder drain coming from the southern wall. So far, with the assistance of David and Nicole, we have managed to excavate the exposed part of the main drain and to extend into the drain itself and into the sediment that has accumulated since the drain stopped functioning. We have been successful in taking core and bulk samples out this region. The next step is to open the top of the drain from Trench 10C (Ivana’s trench) and take vertical core samples. 

I am a student in the Master of Archaeological Science course at ANU and will be undertaking the analyses as part of that program. As we do not really know what is going to be in the drain, it is difficult at this stage to say exactly what I will be looking for. However, I expect to identify major organic and inorganic constituents to help inform the Paphos Theatre project on the nature of activities being carried out in the precinct around the time that the drainage system ceased to operate.  If time permits I expect to also carry out a grid survey for pH and phosphate levels over the whole site.

Another interesting thing I have been doing is to see if we can extract images from some of the deteriorated artwork around the site. To do this, I have been using a software program call DStretch. DStretch is an image enhancement program developed by an American by the name of Jon Harman (DStretch@prodigy.com ). Applications to date have been for the most part in relation to rock paintings, however I was interested to see what it might be able to do here. Shown below is normal photo of the mosaic on the floor of the nymphaeum, compared with the same photo which has been DStretched. The treatment brings out some of the mosaic pattern not readily evident to the naked eye.

The following photos are of part of the western parados wall, which is badly deteriorated. The DStretched photo brings out some of the original detail, which has been confirmed by the project’s principal art adviser, Diana Wood Conroy from the University of Wollongong.

We are now off for the weekend. One of the many good things about Paphos is that – because of the British tourists -  there are plenty of places to watch football on large screen TV. So, looking forward to the rugby World Cup semi-finals.