The Department of Antiquities, Ministry
of Communications and Works, announces that after a year’s gap, the
archaeological investigations conducted by the Department of History and
Archaeology of the Aristotle University of
Thessaloniki at the early Epipalaeolithic site of Vretsia-Roudias in the Troodos mountains (Pafos
District) continued in 2013.
The project was carried
out over twelve days in November 2013 by a small team of Archaeology students,
under the direction of Professor Nikolaos Efstratiou. This year’s aims were to
continue the excavation of trenches that had been opened in 2011 but also to
investigate a larger area by opening new trenches.
More specifically, the team
attempted to find the limits and understand the character of the ‘stone
feature’, which is composed of an extensive layer of stones that had been
identified during previous excavation seasons in a central location of the
site. In addition, investigations focused on confirming the site’s impressive
stratigraphy, especially its deeper layers which are the most intriguing since
they comprise sealed deposits. Another aim was to collect more material, mainly
organic remains which unfortunately are not well-preserved in the specific
environment.
This year’s results at
Vretsia-Rhoudias may be summarized as follows:
-
The excavation
of the two trenches that had been opened during previous seasons was completed,
while three new trenches were opened. The excavation reached the natural
bedrock and the excavated area was extended to the east.
-
The extent of
the ‘stone feature’ seems to be large and it seems to extend towards the east.
Its man-made character is confirmed but its exact use remains unknown although
it is covered by a layer rich in lithics which show traces of heavy burning
(fragments of stone vessels, raw material, grinders and pounders).
-
The deep
succession of archaeological layers was confirmed, which reach 1.30 m. in
depth. This is one of the deepest deposits of the late Pleistocene and early
Holocene on the island of Cyprus and it survives very clearly without
presenting any areas of disturbance.
-
The lithic
material that was collected (which seems to have been found in situ) is useful
for the dating of this microlithic tradition that can be documented mainly in
the deeper layers of the site (micro-burins, micro-blades).
-
The large
quantity of tools collected during the 2013 excavation season (amounting to over
3,000) is expected to help answer the dominant question as to whether the
obviously different tradition in lithic technology at the site of Vretsia-Rhoudias
compared to that of other sites such as Akrotiri-Aetokremnos, Agia
Varvara-Aetokremnos and Agios Tychonas-Klimonas, is the result of a long,
local, inland (?) development (perhaps even of the Pleistocene) or whether it
simply fills in the ‘gap’ in our knowledge of the island’s prehistory (first
half of the 10th millennium BC).
-
Amongst the
moveable finds of the 2013 fieldwork were large stone tools (grinders,
pounders), fragments of possible stone vessels and a small number of stone
beads.
The 2013 excavation season
has confirmed the importance of this Epipalaeolithic
campsite at Vretsia-Rhoudias with regards to Cyprus’ early prehistory. Whether
it represents a distinct version of the inland Aceramic Neolithic A or as
another older tradition on the island, it is expected that the site is likely
to shed light on the early cultural processes that occurred in the wider area
of the Middle East.
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3/1/2014
