Ancient sites — including some ‘lost tombs’ — rediscovered on Cyprus after 20 years
Archaeologists meticulously mapped roughly 60 historic sites ahead of the construction of a British military base on Cyprus in the 1960s. But the careful cataloging only went so far.
For decades afterward, the ruins were largely ignored; some sites were left to nature’s devices while others were filled with trash, according to researchers. Many sites were considered lost — until now.
Archaeologists decided to survey the Eastern Sovereign Base Area at Dhekelia to see how many previously documented historic sites they could relocate, the University of Leicester said in a March 6 news release.
“Many of the sites we were planning to survey had been last visited over 20 years ago, and in many instances had been reported as no longer existing or being unfindable,” Matt Beamish, the archaeologist who led the survey, said in the release.
Archaeologists compiled any information they could find on the lost sites and started searching. The survey focused on relocating ruins that were still visible.
Eventually, archaeologists rediscovered 51 ancient sites, including some “lost tombs and quarries,” the university said. The ruins were largely linked to funerals and ranged in age from the Bronze Age, which began in 2500 B.C., to the Byzantine period, which ended in the 12th century A.D.
“We found that many of the sites could be re-found with a little bit of patience,” Beamish said. Previous surveys likely could not locate the sites due to “inadequate mapping, lack of preparation and lack of satellite location technologies,” he said.
“Some sites had clearly been lost to the subsequent development of roads and buildings,” Beamish said.
The rediscovered ruins included three stone quarries, the university said. At one ancient quarry, circular grinding stones had been removed, leaving “behind distinct clover leaf shapes in the bed rock.”
At another, archaeologists found a “little ramp that looked like it was used for loading slabs of quarried rock into boats tied in deep water alongside.”
Photos from a March 6 news release shared by the university via EurekAlert show some of these ruins.
Archaeologists also found many tombs cut into the rock, the university said. Many graves “were in a very poor state and some bore clear signs of looting.” Others had been used as waste dumps while one had been used “for caging cats.”
The survey’s results were shared with Cyprus officials. Archaeologists hope to conduct aerial or radar surveys next.
“We know that many more archaeological sites will exist which are not obvious to the naked eye,” Beamish said.
Cyprus is an island nation in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Part of the divided island is independent while part, the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, is controlled and solely recognized by Turkey. The Eastern Sovereign Base Area at Dhekelia is a British military base along the southeastern coast of Cyprus.
This story was originally published March 11, 2024 at 6:39 AM with the headline "Ancient sites — including some ‘lost tombs’ — rediscovered on Cyprus after 20 years."
