Cypriot Town Will Dedicate Section of New Building to Long-Term Davidson Archaeological Project

June 23, 2009

Contact:   Bill Giduz, 704-894-2244

(center) Toumazou with project staffers Derek Counts '92 and Clay Cofer '99 in front of the municipal building that houses the archaeological museum and laboratory.

In 1990 Professor of Classics Michael Toumazou launched a modest summertime archaeological dig in his home country of Cyprus. "Naively, I thought it would be a three- to five-year project," he recalled., 20 years later, the dedication of a new $5-million building in the Cypriote town of Athienou will highlight the sustained efforts of Toumazou and his team in illuminating 3,000 years of that town's history. On Friday, July 3, Athienou town officials, the Cypriot Minister of Communications and Works, other dignitaries and legions of proud citizens will gather to dedicate the opening of a museum in the Kallinikion Municipal Hall of Athienou.

The large, modern structure serves several purposes. The museum will showcase 120 artifacts found mostly at Toumazou's dig, including limestone sculptures, two gold coins, pottery, and terracotta figurines of warriors, chariots and horses.

The museum will also house icons in the Byzantine tradition painted by the world-renowned monk Kallinikos, an Athienou native. In addition to the icons, the 90-year-old artist donated the land for the Kallinikion Municipal Hall of Athienou, and it is named in his honor.

A hand and dove piece of another limestone votary also dating from ca. 500 BC

Also on display will be mosaics and frescoes by two other contemporary local artists. Finally, the museum will contain exhibitions of the town's four historically important commercial enterprises--lace making, mule driving, cheese production and bread baking.

The museum is constructed in child-friendly fashion, Toumazou said, and is expected to host visits of school groups from across the island nation.

Perhaps most importantly to Toumazou, the building also includes a large, climate controlled, wireless enabled, basement laboratory for cleaning, photographing, cataloging, and storing artifacts. For many years Toumazou's team did that work in empty houses around town, enduring heat and dust and the bother of setting up and tearing down in different locales after every season's work.

"The archeology lab is a dream come true for me," said Toumazou. "It was a major undertaking by the municipality."

The primary impetus for the building, which took 10 years to plan and construct, was Toumazou's archaeological work. From the beginning of the dig in 1990, town officials and citizens have been excited and supportive of the Davidson-led effort. In addition to funding from Davidson College and the National Science Foundation-Research Experience for Undergraduates, Toumazou's team has received goods and services each summer from Athienou's citizens and merchants. . A local bakery provides an unlimited supply of bread for the team, which has been as large as 50 people. The local dairy producers association gives them its famed Halloumi cheese, the town provides free housing and gas for the team's van and unlimited logistical support.

From its humble beginnings, the Athienou Archaeological Project has developed into a major ongoing undertaking and is one of the largest and longest-lived archaeological projects on the island. Moreover, AAP has the unique distinction of being the only foreign project on Cyprus led by a native Cypriote. In 20 years of digging or study seasons more than 350 students, amateurs and professional archaeologists from all across America have worked there with Toumazou. More than 50 of them have been Davidson students who have worked and done research there during the summer season for course credit.

Two students have become permanent project staff members. Associate Director Derek Counts '92, now an art history professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, was a volunteer in the first year of excavations in 1990 and has been consistently involved since 1995. Assistant Director Clay Cofer '99, a Ph.D. candidate in archeology at Bryn Mawr College, has been with the project since 1997.

Limestone Votary statue dates to ca. 500 B.C.

During most summers, the dig involves up to 50 people, including undergraduates and professional specialists in areas like ancient glass, metallurgy and geophysics. The dig site is located about three miles from town, and contains tombs, a settlement and a sanctuary. Working from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m., diggers excavate the dirt sector by sector, recording every detail of what they uncover.

In the 20 years of work, Toumazou and his team have found and catalogued more than 4,000 artifacts, not counting human bones and pottery shards. Government regulations require that all finds be sent to a district museum in Larnaca, so the items in the new Athienou municipal museum will technically be on loan from the Larnaca facility.

This summer, however, is a "study" summer, and involves no new digging. There are about a dozen professionals on site now reviewing the finds of the past few years and preparing publications about them. Toumazou will soon publish an edited volume of 20 articles about various aspects of the project, including an article on soil chemistry by Davidson Professor of Chemistry Ruth Beeston.

With a new laboratory and museum dedicated mainly to his project, Toumazou recognizes he's now in it for the long haul. "In fact, we've barely scratched the surface at this point," he said. "I'll definitely be here for many more years to come!"

Davidson is a highly selective independent liberal arts college for 1,800 students located 20 minutes north of Charlotte in Davidson, N.C. Since its establishment in 1837 by Presbyterians, the college has graduated 23 Rhodes Scholars and is consistently regarded as one of the top liberal arts colleges in the country. Through The Davidson Trust, the college became the first liberal arts institution in the nation to replace loans with grants in all financial aid packages, giving all students the opportunity to graduate debt-free. Davidson competes in NCAA athletics at the Division I level, and a longstanding Honor Code is central to student life at the college. 

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