City and Cemetery: Excavations at Kourion’s Amathous Gate Cemetery, Cyprus. The Excavations of Danielle A. Parks
Publication information:
Abstract
Volume 1: Context, Analysis, and Conclusions
Volume 2: Human Bone, Ecofacts, and Artifacts
with contributions by D. Matthew Buell, Peter Cosyns, Anne Destrooper-Georgiades, Natasha J. Heap, Malgorzata Kajzer, Xenia Paula Kyriakou, R. Scott Moore, Meredith P. Nelson, Giorgios Papantniou, Chris Parks, David S. Reese, Tina Ross, Agnieszka E. Szymańska, and Urszula Wicenciak
The Amathous Gate Cemetery played a key role in the spatial and social organization of the well-preserved city of Kourion on the south coast of Cyprus. It saw major transformations between the Hellenistic and Byzantine periods, from massively destructive earthquakes and the rise of Christianity to new social and administrative structures.
The excavations were directed by the late Danielle A. Parks from 1995 to 2000, and found striking evidence for burial and commemoration, a wide range of material culture, and a large assemblage of well-preserved human remains. The project uses an innovative methodology for analyzing mixed stratigraphy and legacy data, which we offer to those researching sites with similar challenges.
Volume I presents the chamber tombs and cist tombs, quarrying evidence, and deposition activity from the cleanup after the 370s CE earthquake. It integrates the stratigraphy with the analysis of the material culture and the recording of rock-cut features and gives a broad interpretation of the results of the whole project.
Volume II presents detailed descriptions and interpretations of the ecofacts and artifacts. These include human and animal bone, pottery, lamps, figurines, stone objects, painted plaster, glass, jewelry, coins, and loom weights. Scientific methods include isotopic analysis of the bones, Neutron Activation Analysis of the pottery, and spectroscopic analysis of the glass.
These volumes are the result of a White Levy Program grant awarded to Dr. Michael Given in 2016.