Two Article Tuesday: Cyprus Edition

The last month or so has seen a little pair of recent articles on material from the region of Polis-Chrysochous in northwestern Cyprus. Both article take advantage of the remarkable continuity of settlement at the site and in the wider region which appears to have avoided the disruptions associated with the so-called “Arab Raids” in the 7th century and the attendant contraction of settlement and economic activity of the later 7th and 8th centuries. In fact, there’s a growing evidence that residents of Polis continued to build and adapt churches, remained connected to the Roman state, and perhaps even important (and export?) agricultural produce and luxury goods during these centuries.

A.-M. Sdralia, A. Sarris, V. Kassianidou, and Th. Rehren published an analysis of two copper slag deposits associated with smelting in the region of Polis in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports. This builds upon work that the same team published earlier this year which provided 7th-century carbon-14 dates for two slag heaps near Polis: one at Argaka and one at Pelathousa (which I blogged about here).

The most recent article, “Late Roman metallurgical site patterns, the case studies of two smelting sites in Western Cyprus” expands upon this earlier work to consider the resources, labor, and markets necessary to support large-scale smelting in the 7th and 8th century near Polis. They challenge the view of Late Roman smelting activity proposed by Paul Raber in the 1980s. Raber argued that copper production was both local and occasional. 

Sdralia and colleagues suggest that this might explain evidence for copper production at smaller sites such as Pelathousa or Ay. Kononas (on the Akamas which also shows signs of use into the 7th century), the large slag heap at Argaka suggests regular, large scale production perhaps even for export. They base their argument on both access to a larger workforce from the city of Polis (and presumably economies of scale for the various material requirements for smelting) and access to the sea which would have facilitated the export of refined copper ore possible. The recovery of a cache of 8th century seals, including those associated with Roman diplomatic or naval officials from the coastal zone of Polis indicates that the city may have remained connected to traditional maritime networks. A possible 8th century date for the reconstruction of the South Basilica at Polis suggests ongoing economic activity in the city. The production of copper for local use and export would, of course, have supported both Byzantine and Arab interests inasmuch as it contributed to island’s tax base from which both sides drew revenue.

The second article of this two article gaggle is from Christiana Kelepeshi and Jelena Živković and titled “Reassembling the pieces, reassessing the picture: an analytical study of medieval pottery (mid. twelfth–sixteenth c.) from Polis Chrysochous, Cyprus” in Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences 16 (2024). They took thin sections of both glazed and course Medieval pottery from excavated contexts near the North Basilica (EG.0) and studied the fabric and slips. The results of this work were not particularly surprising. The fine wares conformed to a number of regional patterns initially centered around Paphos (perhaps produced at Lemba or the Fabrica Hill workshops known from excavations) before shifting, perhaps in the late-14th century to production centered around Lapithos. Aegean imports appeared early in the sequence and should perhaps be associated with workshops at Chalcis. Coarse wares appear to be local.

The fabrics published from contexts at Polis demonstrate the continued engagement of the site in networks of local and regional exchange. The material used in this analysis derived from the contexts adjacent to the North Basilica in the area of E.G0 in the Princeton grid. This area emerged in the Middle Ages as as a major burial ground and the monumental and well-adorned church suggests that burials may have attracted the veneration. The nature of the structure associated with the church (and, indeed, the state of the church itself) remains unclear because the site hasn’t received full publication (and as of last summer continued to be excavated as part of the Department of Antiquities site management plan). There is reason to suspect on the basis of its location alone that this was not an ordinary building. In other words the material present in the contexts associated with this building may well reflect both the economic reach of the city’s elite as well as the changing tastes at their table.