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Excavations in Cyprus. Third Season's Work—Polis tes Chrysochou

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 December 2013

J. Arthur R. Munro
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Extract

The main object of the third season's work of the Cyprus Exploration Fund was the excavation at Salamis, of which the results were published in the last number of this Journal. But, as was there mentioned, a small additional sum of money was procured to continue the previous season's work at Polis tes Chrysochou. It was especially important that the field known to us as Site T should be excavated, both because it promised to yield objects of rare beauty and interest, and because the results of the previous operations were, as was pointed out in last year's report, of little scientific value owing to the character of the evidence on which they were based, and required to be tested by further excavation on more trustworthy sites. Before leaving England, therefore, I had written to Mr. J. W. Williamson asking him to negotiate a contract, which (our departure having produced a good effect on the owner's mind) he was fortunately able to secure. To him and to Mr. Cecil Smith, who was most active in procuring the funds, the execution of the project is largely due.

It was near the end of June before work was started at Poli. H. A. Tubbs had been called home by other engagements, so that I was deprived of his cooperation for the remainder of the season. Poli is not to be commended as a summer residence. The heat in the valley is intense, fevers are more easily caught than avoided, and every drop of water fit to drink has to be brought an hour's journey on a donkey. The excavation was uneventful. The only incident which interrupted its course was an attempt by the joint-owner of one of the sites to conclude a contract on his own behalf and defraud his partners of their share of the price, a malpractice which was at once detected by the ever watchful Commissioner, and cost us a couple of days.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Hellenic Studies , Volume 12 , November 1891 , pp. 298 - 333
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies 1891

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References

1 J.H.S. xi. Plate III.

2 The largest of all was tomb 41, which measured 15 feet in length. 37, 40, and 45 were large tombs in the same region.

3 Tombs 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 7.

4 Tomb 9, for instance, over 15 ft., tomb 10 over 14 ft., tomb 16 over 16 ft., tomb 25 over 11½ ft., tomb 46 over 15¾ ft.

5 The only certain exception is tomb 25, which had a door of rough unsquared slabs, or flakes of stone.

6 Numbers 6, 9, 15, 16, 17, 22, 25, 29, 34, 36, 37, 49, are certain instances.

7 There were two instances of bed-niches, in tomb 15 one was built up with a supporting wall of rough stones in a recess 5 ft. long by 2½ ft. deep, and in tomb 41 was a series of them cut in the walls, some closed with stone slabs. In 37 there was a raised bank formed of three stone blocks laid side by side.

8 From tomb 29 were extracted several large stone blocks. The tomb had collapsed, and I at first believed the blocks to have come from the door, but the door of unsquared stones was afterwards discovered intact, so the blocks may perhaps be referred to some sort of μνῆμα. A few iron nails, which may possibly be taken to imply a wooden coffin, were found in 40 and 47, and in 16 two straight bronze clamps, each with two large bronze nails sticking in it.

9 Four tombs, 57, 58, 59, 62, had certainly been robbed, two more, 61 and 74, probably, and possibly others.

10 The mixed contents of 68, the fact that outside the door of 74 three fragments of fine red-figured vases were found, and the presence of isolated incongruous fragments among the thoroughly homogeneous contents of such undisturbed tombs as 63, 66, and the μνῆμα in the δρόμος of 69, seem to prove this; other cases are possible.

11 The floor of 76 was 17 ft., of 75 within one inch of 22 ft., below the surface. 71 was a mere shaft, which we followed down 19 ft. 3 inches to find nothing but solid rock and a Roman lamp with two little Cupids in relief.

12 Between one third and one half of the tombs had wholly or partially collapsed. 57 was excavated in a bed of hard sand and gravel, an unpromising material which had stood the test of time better than could have been expected, but had sadly incrusted the vases.

13 Flights of steps led down to 60, 63, 69, 74, and 75. The stair of 75 was partly composed of stone blocks.

14 Numbers 60, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 72, 75, 76, 77. The niches outside 69 and 72, and the sarcophagus in 70 were also intact. The door of 57 was undisturbed but an entrance had been cut round the left side of it. The robbers seem to have closed the tomb again by laying across the door and hole a great slab of gypsum.

15 See p. 320 for the inscription, and p. 319 for the stele. On the narrow side of one of the slabs from the door of 66 was incised the Cypriote symbol pa; and on the face of a slab from the door of 67 was painted in purple the symbol sa:

16 The contents of 68 are very miscellaneous, and objects unconnected with any tomb have found their way in. The extreme eastern verge of the field, towards which this tomb lay, falls within the limits of the site of the ancient city, and has probably been a good deal turned over in digging foundations etc. We sank several shafts in the same region, and here and there came upon fragments of marble and architectural remains.

I hesitate to say definitely whether the fragments of a terracotta figure of poor style, which were found in the shaft of 75, and a hand, perhaps from the same figure, inside the door, are really to be assigned to that tomb or not.

17 Cf. J. H. S. xi. p. 37 (c).

18 Cf. Ibid. p. 36 (c).

19 21 not 20, because the long-necked amphorae are really to be reckoned another form.

20 This and the other Cypriote inscriptions (except the last) are reproduced from photographs of squeezes pencilled with chalk. I find this method a good practical compromise between clearness and accuracy.

21 Revue Numismatique, 1883, pp. 302, 368. Cf. Head Hist. Num. pp. 626–7, Luynes, DeNum. Cyp. Pl. ii. no. 12Google Scholar. M. Six was formerly inclined to attribute the coins of this type to Marium, and the discovery of one of them in a tomb at Marium may be held to support that attribution, but it cannot be proved that the city was not subject to Soli in the fifth cen tury B. C.

22 Klein, v., Die griech. Vasen mit Lieblingsinschriften p. 86Google Scholar, where a rough sketch of the British Museum lecythus is given, and Wernicke, , Die griech. Vasen mit Lieblingsnamen p. 95.Google Scholar

23 Cf. Wernicke, ibid. p. 108.

24 Compte Rendu, 1863, pp. 17–105.

25 Od. xix. 536–553.

26 Cf. Mr.Gardner, E. A.'s article, J. H. S. vi. pp. 10–11Google Scholar. But the newly-discovered poems of Herodas (iv. 32) seem to bring the motive of the Boy and Goose once more into connection with Asclepius; cf. Anthol. Gr. T. ii. p. 384, 9 and 10 There may have been some legend of the childhood of Asclepius which would explain the connection did we but know it. Is it possible that the sex annis of the MSS. of Pliny (N. S. xxxiv. 84) is a corruption of Aesculapius, or ought it to be omitted altogether?

27 Cf. also Denkmäler des Inst. 1888, Pl. 23, 2.

28 Jahn, O., ‘Frauen mit und auf Schwänen,’ Arch. Zeit. 1858, p. 230Google Scholar f., Stephani, , Compte Rendu 1863, pp. 17–105Google Scholar, Kalkmann, , ‘Aphrodite auf dem Schwan,’ Jahrbuch i. p. 231.Google Scholar

29 Braun, v., Bulletino dell' Instituto, 1855, xxxiiGoogle Scholar.: Furtwängler, , Jahrbuch iii. p. 207Google Scholar, taf. 8. 12: Middleton, , Engraved Gems, p. 73.Google Scholar

30 The apparent exception of tomb 59 is probably to be explained by the fact that two other tombs were robbed through it.

31 Tomb 66, in which the fragment of Cypriote ware with tawny ground and ornate black patterns was found, a variety not present in the eastern necropolis, and evidently influenced by fourth century red-figure style, and tomb 74 outside the door of which were found fragments of fourth century red-figured vases with white flesh-painting. Two tombs containing fourth century vases were, I understand, found close by in the excavations of 1886–7.

32 The lack of pottery in both tombs, as well as in the tomb on Kaparga in which a coin of Alexander was found during our previous excavations, may suggest that they belong to the probably brief period between the destruction of Marium and the foundation of Arsinoe. That the site was absolutely desolate is improbable, possibly there was a foreign garrison in possession.

33 So Ceccaldi, ColonnaMons. Ant. de Chypre, p. 279Google Scholar: Richter, M. O., Mitth. d. Inst. in Athen, vi. p. 194.Google Scholar

34 By a slip of the pen it is derived on p. 68 from tomb M 2 instead of M 1. Dr. Meister would never have suggested the connection of this inscription with no. 15 on p. 70, had he seen the stones. (v. Berliner Philologische Wochenschrift 1890, no. 43, pp. 1354–5.)