FRIENDS OF ASOR WEBINARS
Twenty Years of Archaeology at a Southern Coastal Site on Cyprus
Friends of ASOR present the next webinar in the 2023-2024 season on March 7, 2024, at 6:00 pm EST, presented by Dr. William Caraher, Dr. Thomas Landvatter, Dr. R. Scott Moore and Dr. Brandon R. Olson.
For the last two decades, the Pyla-Koutsopetria Archaeological Project has explored the coastal region of Pyla village. Located 10 km east of Larnaka and immediately below the famous Late Bronze Age site atop the Kokkinokremos coastal ridge, Koutsopetria featured a now-infilled embayment which likely served as a harbor in antiquity. The location of the site near an ancient harbor and astride the major road running between the ancient cities of Kition and Salamis likely led to the fortification of the prominent coastal height of Vigla in the Hellenistic period. This site likely served as strategic outpost for mercenaries during the tumultuous period after Alexander the Great’s death when his successors battled for control over the island and the Mediterranean littoral. The forces occupying the fort appear to have abandoned it within a generation of its construction leaving behind a fascinating window into the tumultuous life of this strategic site.
During the Roman and Late Roman periods, a prosperous town developed in the coastal zone. Excavations in the 1990s by the Department of Antiquities revealed parts of an Early Christian basilica and the intensive survey carried out by our team showed that the site had trade connections across the Mediterranean. The rise and decline of the Roman period settlement at Koutsopetria was less abrupt than that of its Hellenistic predecessor on Vigla, but our work at Koutsopetria similarly offers a window into an era of significant change on the island. Our excavations and survey at Koutsopetria have revealed that the church and surrounding settlement likely experienced a gradual abandonment over the course of the 7th and 8th centuries. This suggests that the site did not succumb to a catastrophic end at the hands of Arab raiders, but declined gradually perhaps as a result of the changing economic and political landscape of the region.
This talk will interweave the story of the Pyla-Koutsopetria Archaeological Project with our understanding of the history of the site during the Hellenistic, Roman, and Late Roman periods.
R. Scott Moore is Distinguished University Professor of History at Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
Thomas Landvatter is Associate Professor of Greek, Latin, and Ancient Mediterranean Studies and Humanities at Reed College.
William Caraher is Associate Professor and teaches in the Department of History and American Indian Studies at the University of North Dakota.
Brandon R. Olson is Assistant Professor of History at Metropolitan State University of Denver.
Combined they have over a half-century of archaeological experience on Cyprus and elsewhere in the Eastern Mediterranean. Starting in 2003, Caraher and Moore co-directed the Pyla-Koustopetria Archaeological Project on Cyprus with David Pettegrew. Since 2018, the project has continued under the direction of Olson, Landvatter, and education director Justin Stephens.
This webinar will be recorded and all paid registrants will be sent a link to view the recording.
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ASOR Sustaining Members: $0 | ASOR Members: $6.50 | Public: $13
Season Pass: ASOR Sustaining Members: $0 | ASOR Members: $75 | Public: $155
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All proceeds from this webinar are used to fund scholarships for members as well as increasing ASOR’s online resources, which are free to the public.
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