Founded 1906
Archaeology Report Autumn 2016
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Selected Article from the BHAS Bi-Annual magazine "Flint" Autumn 2016
A Tale of Two Islands In late April David Rudling led a group tour of Cyprus, based in Limassol and Paphos, and in May Jane Russell led a trip to Jersey. Cyprus and Jersey: two completely different islands - on the surface at least - one bathed in the warm seas and sunshine of the Mediterranean; the other in the rather less friendly waters and weather of the Channel. But it's possible, in fact, to draw several parallels between them. Both have a popular image as holiday destinations where there will be a better chance of good weather than on the UK mainland; both lie much closer to a foreign shore than to the 'mother country', although both have been heavily influenced by the culture of that nearer mainland; and both have rich, complex histories, reaching far back into prehistory, which are little known to the general public. The civil strife that developed in Cyprus in the 1970s is well with-in living memory. The movement for enosis, union with Greece, which grew amongst the dominant Greek-speaking population led to the split of the island between the Greek and Turkish pop-ulations and the continuing hostile relations between the govern-ments of Greece and Turkey. This was, however, far from being the first time that different nations fought for control of the island which is littered with examples of the fortifications that were built in the course of those struggles, notably the Turkish and earlier mediaeval castles from the era of the Crusades. We visited Li-massol Castle, built in the 14th century on earlier Byzantine forti-fications and now a museum of mediaeval Cyprus with some fascinating carved gravestones, Larnaca Castle, built in 1625 under the Turks, and Kolossi Castle, built by the Knights of St John in 1210 and rebuilt by them in the 15th century. Jersey has also had its share of recent hostilities: the Channel Islands were the only part of Great Britain to fall under German rule during WW 1 and concrete (literally) evidence of this can be seen all round the island's coast. Most notable are the War Tunnels, built by the Germans as an underground hospital but now a museum of life under German rule. The island also has its share of mediaeval castles, built to withstand the threat of invasion from France, with additions from the Tudor and Na-poleonic periods. Our coach driver was surprised that we wanted to visit Grosnez Castle because "there is nothing there" but it was well worth the visit for the glorious views if not the few re-maining 14th century walls. Mont Orgueil, built in the 13th century when England lost control of Normandy and needed to protect the islands, also has a magnificent site and remains largely intact. When it, in its turn, became outdated and unsuitable as a defence against newer artillery, Elizabeth Castle was built in St Aubin's Bay. We all enjoyed our journey out to the castle in the amphibious ferry! On Cyprus we visited the site of a Neolithic village at Khirokitia. Dating from 7-6,000BC this was particularly impressive, with the footings of small round houses stretching up the hillside. If there were earlier inhabitants on Cyprus there is no evidence of them. The earliest known settlers, dating to about 8800 BC, probably came from the Levant: their role in the extinction of the indigenous pygmy species of hippo and elephant is disputed! Dwellings from the Chalcolithic era at Lemba looked remarkably similar in outline to Khirokitia. Replicas of the excavated houses were built nearby and left untouched to see how they decay and collapse and so create archaeological sites! Other sites that we visited date to the Bronze Age, the Mycenean settlement of Palaeokastra, and 4th-3rd BC settlements founded by later Greek immigrants. Larnaca itself, originally Kition, was settled in the 13th century BC and became an important port for the export of copper - from which the island derived its name. On Jersey we were fortunate enough to be accompanied for 3 days by Dr Matt Pope who has led excavations of Neanderthal sites on the island for the last 6 years, notably at La Cotte, a site that once overlooked a valley, when the Channel was a river basin, but is now perilously located on the edge of an unstable cliff, with an approach that is under water at high tide. A number of BHAS members risked life and limb in the scramble round the rocky point to view the site. We also visited La Hougue Bie, a Neolithic passage and chamber tomb, surmounted by a mediaeval chapel, and of course we ritually crawled through the passage! Both Cyprus and Jersey have excellent museums. Matt Pope led us round the prehistory section of the Societe Jersiaise museum and gave us a clear overview of the artefacts recovered from the prehistoric sites. The Limassol Archaeology Museum has a wealth of prehistoric ceramic and stone artefacts as well as later bronze and iron items. Many of the ceramic pieces were quite extraordinary, some having no obvious practical use and suggesting flights of fancy, made by master craftsmen.
Both islands proved to be fascinating locations for the archae-ologist and historian and a visit is highly recommended - as is the Jersey black butter ice-cream! Joan MacGregor
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