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- Cilt: 32 Sayı: XXXIII
- The Harbour at Aphendrika During The Early Byzantine Period and the Maritime Activity on the North-E...
The Harbour at Aphendrika During The Early Byzantine Period and the Maritime Activity on the North-Eastern Coast of Cyprus
Authors : Marko Kiessel, Ahmet Murat Saymanlıer, Meray Taluğ
Pages : 143-171
View : 30 | Download : 58
Publication Date : 2024-04-08
Article Type : Research
Abstract :This paper offers new insights into the under-researched rural maritime si- tes of Cyprus’s north-eastern coast of the Early Byzantine period. It focuses on the likewise under-researched coastal site at Aphendrika and its natural harbour bay in the eastern part of the Karpas peninsula, which can probably be identified with the ancient Hellenistic Urania. Its few built and rock-cut harbour facilities and the remains of the rural economy, such as weightstones and press-beds linked to olive oil production, were investigated and docu- mented by non-invasive methods, by a ground- and aerial survey. A conside- rable amount of surface sherds from the harbour bay, its shallow water and the bay’s close surroundings were rescued from further destruction and disap- pearance, transferred to the archaeological depot, documented and typologi- cally classified. Based on a few limited earlier studies about the historic site at Aphendrika, on the analysis of other ancient Cypriot sites with harbours or anchorages and on our own site analyses the paper argues that the har- bour and its largely unknown settlement served as a gateway emporion which connected the coast with its local hinterland and attracted especially coastal maritime traffic. The amphora spectrum is predominantly Eastern Mediterra- nean, among which the Late Roman Amphora 1 dominates. Abundant traces of lever-and-screw presses attest to a surplus production which certainly was exported through the harbour. The rural economy was probably controlled by a local elite. This elite who has similarly been attested for Early Byzantine sites at the south coast of Cyprus materializes through two 6th-century chur- ches and a single marble pilaster capital which might derive from a wealthy rural estate. Finally, the results from Aphendrika were embedded into data gained from a map-, literature- and physical survey concerning previously known and potentially new ancient harbour or anchorage sites on the nort h-eastern coast of Cyprus, between Kyrenia and Cape Andreas. The identification of potentially new sites is based on specifically developed indicative criteria, leading to the conclusion that the maritime activity on the island’s north coast was more intensi- ve than described in previous scholarship.Keywords : Kıbrıs, Geç Roma, Erken Bizans, arkeoloji, kıyı yerle- şimi, liman, demirleme, deniz geçidi, amfora