Jan Bartek – AncientPages.com – Archaeologists just lately unearthed a major discover in Cyprus: a 4,000-year-old temple in Erimi. This discovery is probably the oldest recognized sacred web site on the island. The temple was positioned in an space beforehand serving as a craftsman’s workshop.
The excavation was performed by an Italian archaeological workforce, the Erimi Archaeological Mission, affiliated with the College of Siena and led by Professor Luca Bombardieri.
A recreation of the temple depicts an amphora, a hearth pit, and a monolith. Credit score: College of Siena
Researchers are notably all in favour of massive, enigmatic monolith that includes a round sample of cups at its heart. This artifact gives precious insights into the traditional artisan neighborhood that after thrived in Cyprus.
The early settlement of Erimi-Bombardieri is positioned within the hinterland of Limassol. It extends over a excessive limestone terrace that dominates the course of the Kouris River and a big portion of the coast of the Gulf of Kourion and the Akrotiri peninsula. In the course of the Center Bronze Age (round 2000-1600 B.C.), a neighborhood of artisans settled on the Erimi hill and constructed a communal residing area with very specific traits.
Just lately, a discovery was made within the western wing of the artisan advanced: a room containing a monolith of appreciable dimension, about 2.30 meters excessive, fully clean, with a round motif of small cups within the heart.
Archaeologists excavating on the web site. Credit score: College of Siena
Professor Bombardieri explains in a press release that the monolith, which initially stood within the room’s heart, collapsed onto the ground, destroying a big amphora positioned at its toes in entrance of a small round fireside. The room’s inside area allowed circulation across the monolith, amphora, and fireside occupying the central space.
The peculiarities of this area, particularly when in comparison with the encompassing manufacturing laboratory areas, point out it was a small sacred area—the oldest attested on the island. Its cultural perform is especially fascinating on account of its location throughout the laboratory advanced. Thus, the exercise that economically supported the neighborhood concerned its members ideologically and symbolically.
Within the current excavation mission, archaeologists additionally uncovered the skeleton of a younger girl estimated to be round 20 years outdated. The proof means that she was the sufferer of a violent demise, and her physique was subsequently “sealed.” This observe might have tried to hide the crime and forestall her spirit from haunting the residing.
The sufferer’s skull reveals indicators of fracture, probably attributable to a spear or a heavy object. Her physique was positioned on the bottom with a big stone positioned on her chest, probably to immobilize her stays. Notably, no precious objects or ceremonial objects have been discovered close to the physique, indicating that no formal burial rites have been carried out.
Italian researchers suggest that this discovery might characterize an historic case of femicide, probably linked to the girl’s being pregnant. The doorway to the small dwelling the place she was discovered was meticulously sealed, resembling a tomb. This incident dates again to the Bronze Age, roughly 2,000 and 1,600 B.C.
The location of the 4,000-year-old temple seen from the air. Credit score: College of Siena
Professor Bombardieri means that this case could also be linked to different related incidents recorded in varied elements of Cyprus. Sometimes, the victims of those femicides have been younger girls who have been murdered and remoted from their households and communities.
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This discovering gives a novel window into the island’s distant previous, shedding gentle on the non secular practices and craftsmanship of a civilization that existed 4 millennia in the past. The temple’s location inside a former workshop space suggests a potential connection between religious actions and artisanal manufacturing on this early Cypriot society.
Written by Jan Bartek – AncientPages.com Workers Author
