Forschungsprojekte

The first research project in Medieval industrial archaeology in Cyprus originated with the investigation of the Lusignan cane sugar production centre at Kouklia (Stavros Project)

The pottery used in Cyprus between the 11th and the 18th centuries represents a large and variegated ceramic material – comprising both locally manufactured wares and vessels imported from production centres in the East and in the West.

Due to its geopolitical situation at the crossroads of civilisations, contact and exchange between foreign influences and traditional culture formed the history of Cyprus through the centuries.

Excavations at Palaipaphos (modern Kouklia) were conducted from the beginning with the principal aim to reconstruct the topography, settlement structure and urbanistic development of the ancient city. Until the end of the 4th century BC Palaipaphos was the capital of the Greek kingdom of Paphos, and the only large urban settlement in southwestern Cyprus. The Paphian Sanctuary of Aphrodite remained one of the great religious centres of antiquity. Pilgrims from all over the Greek and Roman world came to visit the famous shrine, until the spread of Christianity in the 4th century AD put an end to the worship of pagan gods. In the Middle Ages, a considerable settlement with a royal Manor house developed over the ruins of the Roman city.