Vasilikos Valley Project: Fourth Preliminary Report, 1979–1980

Abstract

During the fourth season of the Vasilikos Valley Project in the Larnaca District of southern Cyprus, excavations were continued at the Aceramic and Ceramic Neolithic site of Kalavasos-Tenta. Excavation on the west side of the top of the site revealed more of the plan of the earliest curvilinear building that underlies the stone complex. Elsewhere on the top of the site, further mud-brick and stone structures were uncovered, and a unique wall painting was found on the central pier of one building. Excavations in the Lower South Slope area confirmed the existence of a deep ditch outside the outer settlement wall. Five Aceramic phase burials were excavated in different parts of the site. Investigation of the Ceramic phase deposits on the eastern flanks of the site revealed a series of pits, but no standing architectural remains.Excavations at the Chalcolithic site of Kalavasos-Ayious on the east side of the valley were also continued. A series of pits of widely varying size was brought to light in several different areas of the site. The largest pits contained numerous artifacts, sometimes in situ on distinct surfaces. At the north end of the site three pits were found connected by subterranean tunnels.Rescue excavations, lasting from July 1979 through February 1980. were also undertaken at the Late Bronze Age site of A. Dhimitrios, a short distance to the south of Tenta. An extensive architectural complex of finely built stone structures was uncovered within the line of the new Nicosia-Limassol highway. The quality of the building, and the clear degree of planning that underlies the whole architectural layout, betoken a site of considerable importance. The architectural levels on the site may be dated to a late phase of Late Cypriote II, but one of the tombs also contains material of Late Cypriote I or early Late Cypriote II date.A systematic field survey of the southern half of the Vasilikos valley, employing a regularly spaced series of transects, revealed a number of additional sites of varying type and period. A chronological outline of prehistoric Cyprus is provided in Table 1. Specialist reports on geographical, fluvial geomorphological, faunal, and conservation studies are also included.This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant no. BNS77–07685 A02.