Pyla-Koutsopetria Undergraduate Perspectives

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    As I sit here at three in the morning, covered in bruises (from bumper cars) and dirt, I reflect on my time here. If I had to use one word it would be, amazing. On Kokkinokremos we had the best trenches and people. I learned so much and had a lot of fun at the same time. Sarah Costello was Eu 10's brave leader and she helped pull us together. Might I add that we were also the first to be done. That is how cool our trench is.
    The entire staff at PKAP will be greatly missed. I am taking away so many memories from this trip that will never be forgotten. Everyone has taught me so much not just about Archaeology but, other things as well.  Not all topics were related to academia but, they were awesome all the same. It is an amazing opportunity to be part of this project and I am thankful to all those that made it possible for us to be here. This experience just cannot be repeated.
    Cyprus is such an amazing country. It definitely has to be one of my most favorite countries so far. There is so much that I only touched upon but it was great to be a part of it, even only for a minute.
    Thanks to all for everything! It was amazing, hope to see you next year!

(I had plans for an inspirational photo or two...sorry my internet is not up to par)

Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow

    All good things must come to an end.  The finish of my first field season is bittersweet.  I am excited that we had a great season and accomplished so much.  Also I'm ready to stop going out in the hot sun to dig holes.  Yet part of me will miss good old EU 13 and the phenomenal team within.  Despite brutal conditions and my lack of knowledge of the Simpson's and South Park, we still managed to form tight trench bonds and I will miss my team. 
    I dearly hope that I will be able to return to PKAP next season.  I have learned so much from my experiences here; my trench team really taught me a lot.  I can't believe it's actually over, and part of me doesn't want it to be.  So here I sit, writing my last blog post of the season, hoping that I'll have the opportunity to do it all again next season.  Until then, EU 13 out.

The museum of National struggle and the Green Zone

Photo from the border, ignore photo date

I found both the green zone and the Museum of the National Struggle very interesting. First I found it surprising that the museum focused only on a very short time period, from 1953-59. Also, I found it interesting how it was very biased toward a Greek view of Cyprus. The wording of the museum inferred that the people being commemorated were fighting to restore their "Greek Heritage from foreign influences". For the fighters who are commemorated, this probably was their motivation.
    I find it interesting how in Cyprus the conflict between east and west is not one over religion or explicitly over money. It is more of an ethnic conflict where two groups are struggling for their own sovereignty one a small island with other large national powers throwing their wieght around the conflict as well. Much like Cyprus is between east and west, the green zone seemed like a paradox between conflict and reconciliation. Some parts of this line where covered in barbed wire and guarded by the greek military while other parts of the border were very fluid. Hopefully the evoling fulidity means that the border and the conflict will be of less importance in Cypriot life and the conflict will begin the process of reconciliation.
  Northern flag, ignore the photo date

No Nazis to dodge, no Russians tailing us...

    Oh Archaeology, how Romanticized you've become.  There's nothing terribly glorious about digging in the dirt, wearing a pair of clothes for the umpteenth time that is covered in a protective layer of dirt meshed into the fabric and has developed an aura of nastiness you never thought possible.   Sure police of various levels show up now and again, but they're simply curious and want to "check our permits."  The field directors don't recline in a comfortable tent on the field enjoying the finer cuisine of the land while the slaves toil away (at least not that we know of anyway) but instead spend their time between supervising, paperwork, and diving into the fray with the lowly undergrads.  We found no holy grail, ark of the covenant or even the fabled beadmaker (new theories suggest a correlation between our "beadmaker" of old and the Greek Orthodox Priests selling bead jewelry on the streets during Kataklysmos, but that's a story for another day). 
   Koutsopetria:  The only gunfire we get is from the range on the British base.

     This is not to say that Archaeology is a waste of time.  During our time in Cyprus, we've seen the role Archaeology can play in culture and even in politics.  For years Archaeology has been used to support a Greek claim to the island, in response to Turkish occupation.  Currently these moves are being debunked by many in academia; the site of Kokinokremos has been deeply entrenched in these debates "one of the earliest Greek settlements on the island."  Theories of the destructions in Koutsopetria will also be revised after our findings on site as well. 
      As one of the directors said while giving a tour to a local school group, archaeologists try no to lose money by the end of their season.  It's not a lucrative operation to be sure.  But it has implications for the local political climate, and is important for the research of the PhDs.  Sadly it fails as a get-rich-quick sceme, but it carries a lot of weight into more important cultural matters for the regions involved.  

Nicosia: The Middle of Cyprus, and the Middle of Nowhere...

If you had asked me where Cyprus was a week ago, I would have said without hesitation that it an Eastern European country. End of a complicated but definable question. Now I’m not so sure.

Nicosia, the capital of Cyprus, is one of the last European capitals to be separated by a physical wall, and we visited the city a few days ago. The area that we were in was significantly different from Larnaca and, in my experience, had a distinctly non-western feel. I finally felt like I was in a different country, but I wasn’t sure where.

Have been in parts of western Europe and Israel, I tried to compare where I was walking with those places. None matched. ‘Where am I?’ I thought.

I think that question is the root to my experience in Cyprus. I know, logically, where I am, but it doesn’t fit. I’m not in Europe, but I’m not in the Middle East either. Not in Greece (although it often feels like it), but I’m not in Turkey either. This confusion was only multiplied when I walked along the Green Line. I could see into an unrecognized country, and it looked exactly the same as the street I was walking along. I can only imagine the confusion and pain this causes Cypriots, knowing exactly where you are and still being lost.

I’ve learned a lot during my stay in Cyprus, but nothing was as emotionally draining as my lesson in Nicosia. I love Cyprus, but Cyprus is still having trouble loving itself.

Last Day in Cyprus

 Today is my last full day in Cyprus. I think I accomplished just about everything I wanted to do while I was here, although returning with bruises from bumper cars wasn’t on the list. It’s a strange feeling because I want to stay here, but I also feel like it’s time to go home. A few of us have been joking about accidentally missing our flight so we would get to stay here even longer. Vigla EU 8 had a great week and hit bedrock through most of the trench, but still needs a little cleaning up. It was exciting to be a part of the trench and all of the important finds. I learned a lot about excavation methods and the archaeological process. Also, I was able to experience a new culture and live in an exciting city. I had an awesome time. Hopefully, at some point I'll be able to come back! The flight home is going to be long, maybe I should take some Shark with me to help me make it through the trip.

The view from Vigla: 

 

On the ferris wheel:

What happened on Vigla?

There is a distinct possibility that the settlement on Vigla came to a violent end. If this is true it raises the question of how it was destroyed since Vigla is impenetrable on three sides and fortified all round. There seems to be three scenarios.

1)      The invaders built a large wooden horse, hid men in side, and tricked the people of Vigla to take it inside the fort.

2)      The invaders were in strength and well armed with siege equipment which allowed them to take Vigla through direct attack.

3)      The invaders besieged Vigla and waited for the food and water to run out.

Given the lack of a know water supply on Vigla, it seems most likely that the fort was besieged for a time before falling. It also seems that the fort/settlement was destroyed and then abandoned. This could indicate that the fort had held out long enough to make the invaders annoyed enough to destroy the site instead of subduing it and demanding tribute.     

Through the Dead Zone

    Yesterday morning we took a field trip to Nicosia, the divided capital of Cyprus. We first went to the Museum of National Struggle, which shows the struggle for Cypriot independence from Britain and unification with Greece from the Greek Cypriot perspective. Once again, I loved seeing the museum that Papadakis described in his book, Echoes from the Dead Zone. It was interesting, especially since I am planning on going into public history, to observe how these events were interpreted and displayed for the public. I was particularly struck by the emphasis on the Greek origins of the inhabitants of the island, as well as certain word choices, including the phrase “Personal objects of hero [name].” The display made it very clear to visitors that Cyprus is fundamentally Greek and the enemies of the conflict were the Turks and British – the use of the museum as a form of propaganda was more than evident. It is especially interesting to note that there is a similar museum on the northern, Turkish-occupied side of the island, which interprets the same events from the Turkish perspective.

            When we left the museum we took some time to walk around the city along the Dead Zone. The area right along the border truly is a dead zone…the buildings are in utter disrepair, and nothing seems to be prospering. The spaces between buildings are barricaded with blue and white barrels and fencing, complete with barbed wire and the Greek and Cypriot flags. However, there is one portion of the border in Nicosia that has become rather fluid. David said there used to be a viewing area; now it has been opened up, marked only by a few signs and some not-so-intimidating guards. Although we couldn’t cross into the north without our passports, we were able to walk right through the Dead Zone to the very border of the Turkish-occupied north. The “Cyprus Problem” had never felt so real as it did when I could stand there and be just feet from the north – it was rather odd to see how a road had just been cut off, the city divided along a seemingly arbitrary line with daily life continuing as usual along both sides.

  

Team Crowley: GPR-rific

    So after leaving EU 8 on Vigla early last week I have been floating about on different projects.  The main purpose of this change was to allow myself to become more familiar with the Ground Penetrating Radar system that Dr. Chiarulli brought to Cyprus with her.  Since we only have 2 weeks with the GPR (Last Monday until this Friday) and Dr. Chiarulli will not be with the project the whole time that it would be best if I learned how to operate it in the field.  After several days of independent operation with myself and Matt operating the GPR and Dr. Moore laying out grids for us to do we have become recognized as 'Team Crowley.'

    This reorganization was hard fought and even now there are some nay-sayers but the results don’t lie, we have mapped 19 30x30m squares and 3 smaller ones in a week and a half with the same time off as the rest of the field teams.  The preliminary results that we have gained appear very promising and no one can argue that any 2 diggers have found more than Team Crowley.  I am hopeful that once the results are filtered we can get a much clearer picture of what was happening on our site and when compared to the survey pottery that has been read we may even be able to give preliminary dates for the structures… all before we put a single trowel in the ground.

Not Just Another Tourist

Last night was the climax of the Kataklysmos festival, and after the group did a few rounds of bumper cars, some of us got separated from the main group. It ended up to be a good thing though, because if I hadn't been separated, I would have never found the small inconspicuous stand playing classic rock. One thing that I have definitely noticed while I have been over here is that the Greeks have never latched on to the electric guitar. While their pop and traditional music is interesting, I don't really care for it that much. And it also seems odd that they have "imported" American pop music, but not any rock. In the midst of the festival, I was definitely caught off guard when I heard Guns N' Roses playing in the background. 

Anyway, I talked to the owner of the stand for a few minutes, and he seemed interested as to why I was in Cyprus, like a few other people have. It has been my experience that the local Cypriots don't understand why anyone would want to leave the comfort of the States to come to Cyprus, especially for almost a month. However, after I tell them that I came to do archaeology work, their disbelief instantly changes to interest and they seem really happy that other people are taking an interest in their own history and culture. Also, it helps to try to use bits of Greek during conversations, because then the people I talk to are more open and willing to talk to me more. It really helps that as a group, we are here to learn about the history, because then I think it allows us to have more interesting conversations and gain better insights into the Cypriot culture.