PKAP 2012 Press Release

At the conclusions of each field seasons the Pyla-Koutsopetria Archaeological Project produces a final report to submit to the Department of Antiquities of Cyprus and for our own records. This report is generally quite detailed and involves lengthy summaries of our archaeological methods and the data collected. These reports also go out to organizations that have provided us with grant money or other resources.

As part of the final report, we include a short press release that summarizes the work of our season and attempts to make our field work accessible to a non-expert audience. Every now and then, a Cypriot news outlet picks up the press release, translates it into Greek, and publishes it.

Here’s the press release:

2012 Press Release Pyla-Koutsopetria Archaeological Project

The 2012 field season of the Pyla-Koustopetria Archaeological Project marked the 10th season of field work and study at the coastal zone of Pyla Village east of Larnaka, Cyprus. This season concentrated on the further investigation of a fortified site of Pyla-Vigla dating to the Hellenistic period (4th c. – 1 c. BC) and situated on an imposing coastal height overlooking both Larnaka Bay and the major north-south and east-west land routes. Four soundings at the site during this season produced additional information on the domestic spaces associated with this extensive fortified settlement. Finds included military equipment and storage vessels as well as table wares and cooking pots which provided important information on the daily life of the residents of this site. The soundings also revealed a stretch of substantial fortification wall the exceeded 2.5 m in width and featured a 3 m x 1.5 m lined stone storage pit. The storage pit was filled with a massive deposit of Hellenistic pottery perhaps associated with clean-up after one of several episodes of destruction at the site. This assemblage of pottery will provide significant information on not only the site of Vigla, but also the Hellenistic period on Cyprus. The Pyla-Koutsopetria Archaeological Project is a collaboration between the Department of Antiquies of Cyprus, the University of North Dakota (UND), Messiah College, and Indiana University of Pennylvania (IUP) under the direction of William Caraher (UND), David Pettegrew (Messiah College), and R. Scott Moore (IUP). The project works with the permission of the Department of Antiquity of Cyprus and with the support of its Director, Dr. Maria Hadjicosti.