About
Athienou-Malloura
The Malloura Valley
The area encompassing the Malloura Valley and the modern village
of Athienou is rich in archaeological heritage. Within the Malloura
survey area (blue rectangle), an Archaic-Roman rural sanctuary,
Archaic-Roman chamber tombs at Magara Tepesi, remains of a Roman-Ottoman
settlement, and some thirty Venetian period burials have been located.
In the outlying areas, earlier excavations by other teams at Golgoi,
Agios Photios, and Bamboulari have been undertaken.
Malloura Valley and surrounding locales
Rural Sanctuary
Cypro-Archaic - Roman periods
The sanctuary at Athienou Malloura was first discovered in 1862
by the French Mission led by Melcior de Vogüé. Although
the results of this excavation were never published, about 70 pieces
of sculpture in the Louvre have recently been found to be from Malloura.
Later, the site was robbed by looters, who exported hundreds of
statues from Cyprus illegally. In 1991 the sanctuary was relocated
during the Athienou Archaeological Project's first season of excavation.
There, the AAP exposed bedrock containing both Cypro-Archaic and
Cypro-Classical artifacts as much as 2.5 m below the surface. Exposed
potions of the sanctuary walls reveal that the enclosed area was
400 sq m, thus making it one of the largest rural sanctuaries in
Cyprus. Architectural remains from the later phase include two long
peribolos walls which meet at right angles in the corner of a sacred
enclosed area. In earlier phases, several Archaic and Classical
wall segments were found, which were built directly on the bedrock.
The major archeological finds include many limestone statues ranging
in size from only a few centimeters to over life size. There are
also Cypro-Archaic and Cypro-Classical terracotta figurines of helmeted
warriors, chariots, animals, decorated and plain pottery, limestone
utensils (offering vessels, lids), and a few bronze and iron artifacts.
The majority of the statues are of male figures or divinities such
as Zeus/Baal-Hammon, Herakles-Melqart, Apollo, and Pan.
Aerial view of sanctuary, 1999
Chamber tombs of Magara Tepesi
Cypro-Archaic - Roman periods
The rock-cut tombs of Magara Tepesi are located north west of the
Malloura site. Locals will tell that as recently as the 1960's,
the hill was dotted with small tombs, which were destroyed by looters,
bulldozing, and plowing. The AAP excavations of the tombs focused
on two main areas, the northwest summit of the hill, and the lower
northeastern slope. The top of the hill produced four looted chamber
tombs consisting of sloping passageways through havara and conglomerate
which ended in circular burial chambers dug out of a layer of greenish
marl. Excavating the bottom of the hill exposed four large tombs
cut into huge pieces of white chalk. The construction plan of these
was a steeped dromos leading down to a single chamber with three
benches cut into the rock. The largest of the tombs, tomb 27, had
a stepped sunken forecourt, and a doorway small side bordered by
two chambers or loculi. Large numbers of artifacts were recovered
from the excavation: silver and bronze coins, scraps of metal vessels
and nails, gold and silver finger rings and earrings, a gold jeweled
necklace, local and imported lamps, and ceramic vessels dating to
the Hellenistic-early Roman periods. The quantity and temporal range
found in the tombs suggests that the tombs were used for generations
by extended families. In tomb 27, nearly 10,000 potsherds and skeletal
material from as many as 100 people were found. In 1995 a rock-cut
cistern was found west of tomb 28. The only artifacts found in the
cistern were plain ceramics, but it may relate to Roman funerary
practices.
All information on this page is provided as is
courtesy of:
Michael K. Toumazou
Department of Classics
Davidson College
Davidson, NC 28036
(704) 894 - 2281
fax (704) 894 - 2005
mitoumazou@davidson.edu
http://www.davidson.edu/academic/classics/Toumazou/AAP/site.html
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