ABSTRACT

Archaeological survey methods combined with geophysical reconnaissance and test excavations offer systematic ways to shed light on ancient landscapes and settlements in regions considered passive “backwaters” on the edges of more well-known states or urban configurations. For the island of Cyprus, such rural places developing during the Iron Age (ca. 11th–4th centuries b.c.) are understudied, despite evidence for diverse and complex regional occupation patterns. This paper presents preliminary results of investigations in the Vasilikos and Maroni River valleys of south-central Cyprus and discusses the archaeological traces of emerging small-scale communities on the eastern edges of the polity of Amathus. Recent work incorporating legacy data reveals not only diverse taphonomies of rural landscapes, but also heterogeneous activities marked by investment in rural commodities, as well as by ritual and mortuary practices. Such investigations allow archaeologists to reassess assumptions of static hinterlands and interrogate instead the recursive generation of urban and rural formations.

摘要

考古调查方法与地球物理勘察和测试挖掘相结合，提供了系统的方法来揭示更知名的国家或城市配置边缘被认为是被动“死水”地区的古代景观和定居点。对于塞浦路斯岛，铁器时代在这样的农村地区发展（约11 -第4个世纪公元前) 尚未得到充分研究，尽管有证据表明区域职业模式多种多样且复杂。本文介绍了在塞浦路斯中南部 Vasilikos 和 Maroni 河谷的初步调查结果，并讨论了阿马图斯政体东部边缘新兴小规模社区的考古痕迹。最近结合遗留数据的工作不仅揭示了农村景观的多样化挖掘，而且还揭示了以农村商品投资以及仪式和太平间习俗为标志的异质活动。这样的调查使考古学家能够重新评估静态腹地的假设，并询问城市和农村地层的递归生成。