Prastio-Mesorotsos: University of Edinburgh

Cyprus Department of Antiquities

The Department of Antiquities, Ministry of Communications and Works, announces the completion of the 2014 University of Edinburgh archaeological investigations at the multi-period site of Prastio-Mesorotsos in the Pafos district. The excavations were conducted from the 9th of June to the 13th of July 2014. The team is led by Dr. Andrew McCarthy, Fellow of the School of History, Classics and Archaeology at the University of Edinburgh, and Director of the Cyprus American Archaeological Research Institute (CAARI). The project involves the cooperation of an international team of specialists and field school students.

This season the team targeted the prehistoric remains from this long-lived site. The earliest deposits date to the Pre-Pottery Neolithic period, revealed in a series of seasonal occupational deposits, storage pits and food preparation areas. Two features from different areas of the site show variation and sophistication in pyrotechnology. In one instance, a large stone-lined pit showed evidence of burning and was filled with a concentration of ash. If this feature was for roasting food, this pit-roast technique would have served the needs of a great number of people, possibly bands of hunters exploiting the upland resources. In another area, a smaller scale (c.70cm) but roughly contemporary feature was an above-ground mud-built (pisé) domed structure similar to a tanour or kleftiko type oven. This smaller domed oven could have been used for baking bread or roasting meat, but represents domestic-scale usage attesting diversity of activities.

Read more: http://www.mcw.gov.cy