Misc. Research

This section includes a hodgepodge of articles and other items, mostly relevant to the study of Cypriot sculpture, as well as links to other research tools.

Articles

Melchior de Vogüé, “Letter to M. Renan” (1862) #1, pp. 345-7.Melchior de Vogüé, “Letter to M. Renan” (1862) #2, pp. 244-9.

Two nineteenth century letters written by Melchior de Vogüé to E. Renan, the director of the French Mission de Phénicie, responsible for numerous explorations in the region of ancient Golgoi (modern Athienou). The letters are among the only documents of this activity, which included substantial soundings and retrieval of sculptures from sanctuaries in the Athienou area (Golgoi, Arsos, Malloura). They also provide an interesting glimpse into the antiquarian culture of the nineteenth-century and its impact on the archaeology of Cyprus. Sculptures retrieved from this activity (primarily conducted by the team’s architect, Edmond Duthoit) are now housed in the Louvre. Courtesy of Archive.org.

J. L. Myres, “A Sanctuary Site at Lefkoniko,” BSA 41 (1945), 53-68 (Plates 11-21).

Myres’s brief but important report on his excavations of a sanctuary at Lefkoniko. The limestone sculptures from the sanctuary, now housed in the Cyprus Museum, constitute one of the larger caches of Archaic-Hellenistic sculptures. The sanctuary yielded many votary and divine types associated with the worship of a male divinity. The article also reports on other investigations carried out in Cyprus by Myres at other sites, including Salamis and Lapithos. Courtesy of Google Books.

J. L. Myres, “The Dates and Origins of Cypriote Sculpture,” BSA 41 (1945), 100-104.

A brief, but important article by Myres discussing and, to a certain extent, defending his chronology and classification in his Handbook of the Cesnola Collection (New York, 1914; see full text above in the ‘Library’). Courtesy of Google Books.

The Limestone Sculpture from Kition and The Limestone Sculpture of the Vouni Region (Bulletin, Medelhavsmuseet. Vols 15 (1980), 41-9 and 16 (1981) 39-46.
Pamela Gaber (Saletan)
Two seminal articles by Pamela Gaber, which applied a regional focus to Cypriot sculpture studies.Gaber rightly criticized the prevailing assumption that a relative chronology based on style would be consistent throughout the island. By examining the sculpture uncovered by the Swedish Cyprus Expedition in the Vouni region (sites of Vouni and Mersinaki), for example, Gaber isolated several traits that seemed distinct to the area, such as triangular faces with bowed mouths and a vertical emphasis (Gaber-Saletan 1981: 45). Likewise, Gaber’s work on the sculpture of Kition isolated stylistic features that appeared distinct to that site and showed how the study of regional schools might be used to elucidate larger historical and social questions.

A. Hermary, “Un nouvel Apollon chypriote au Louvre,” Académie des Incscriptions and Belles-Lettres 132 (1988), 815-33.

An important contribution to the study of Apollo’s iconography in Cyprus, with particular emphasis on the fine, draped Apollo of Malloura, in the Louvre. Some images are not accessible due to copyrights. Downloadable .pdf also available. Courtesy of Persée.

A ‘Cypriote-Herakles’ in the National Museum, Athens (by D. Counts)

Digital photos taken in the Spring of 2002 at the National Museum in Athens and a brief commentary.

A ‘Pastiche’ of 5th c. BC Cypriote Sculpture in Providence, RI (by D. Counts)

Among the collections of the Center for Old World Archaeology and Art at Brown University (Providence, RI, USA), there is an enigmatic piece of Cypriote sculpture which features the head of male, wearing a lion-skin headdress, set atop a draped female torso–obviously the product of a flawed restoration. The statue presents an ideal opportunity to discuss two important types of votive statuary commonly found in Archaic and Classical sanctuaries in Cyprus. I would like to thank the Center for Old World Archaeology and Art for permission to publish the piece in this forum.

Tamassos Limestone Funerary Sculptures (Archaeology Magazine Archive 1997)

The discovery of six limestone sculptures associated with the so-called ‘Royal Tombs’ of Tamassos in 1996 is one of the most exciting discoveries of Cypriot sculpture in the last several decades. Four lions and two sphinxes were unearthed, almost fully intact and preserving traces of their original color. The following brief announcement by Demos Christou (then director of the Department of Antiquities, Cyprus) from the on-line archives of Archaeology magazine discusses the discovery and illustrates two of the lions. The pieces were published more fully by M. Solomidou-Ieronymidou in the RDAC (2001). See Bibliography under ‘General Studies’.

Journals

Bulletin de correspondance hellénique (Persée)

A digital archive of the French School publications, including the Bulletin de correspondance hellénique (1877-2000!) plus all of the BCH supplements. The BCH contains excavation reports and synthetic studies related to Cypriot archaeology – and the full series (1877 until 2014) is available open access. Full-text and searchable (!) online/pdf versions are now available via Persée, a site sponsored by the French Ministry of State for Higher Education and Research designed to offer digital publication of scientific journals in the field of the humanities. The BCH is among the journals catalogued (as well as Syria, Paléorient, and the Comptes-rendus des séances de l’Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres). A full listing, year by year, from 1959-2005, may be found by following the link above. Volumes in the Études Chypriotes series (including  Amathonte series) and the complete excavation volumes for Delos and Delphi also available. Courtesy of the École Française d’Athènes.

Cahiers du Centre d’Études Chypriotes
Full-text and searchable (!) online/pdf. Dedicated to the study of ancient Cyprus, the CCEC is arguably one of the most important journals for the study of Cypriot archaeology, history, language, etc. Published by the Centre d’Études Chypriotes. Open access courtesy of Persée.

Revue archéologique

Main website of the journal. Provides TOC for last ten years, including some articles available as .pdfs. The RA is one of only a few major journals that frequently highlight Cypriot material culture; the journal also includes book reviews on Cypriot volumes.

Thetis: Mannheimer Beiträge zur klassischen Archäologie und Geschichte Griechenlands und Zyperns

Website of the journal Thetis, an interdisciplinary journal of Greek and Cypriote archaeology and history, edited by Reinhard Stupperich (University of Heidelberg) and Heinz A. Richter (University of Mannheim). Especially useful is the listing of the Table of Contents for each issue; the journal has been published since 1994.

Research Tools

The Heritage Gazetteer of Cyprus

From the HGC: The overall aim of this project is to facilitate the use of a wide range of expertise in recording the historic geography of Cyprus; the resource has been designed to record all locations/monuments attested as in use in any period up to 1918, date of the publication of George Jeffrey’s Description of the historic monuments of Cyprus, and all names used for these locations on the island, in any language or period up to the establishment of standard reference systems. Entries are of two kinds: specific monuments, (described as Archaeological Entities, AE) for which we aim to provide a geographical point as accurately as possible; and larger groupings, such as villages, or excavation areas (described as Historical Units, HU), for which we are providing deliberately schematic polygon outlines, since we cannot know the precise dimensions of such an area at every point in its history.

The PASP Database for the Use of Scripts on Cyprus

Searchable online version of The PASP Database for the Use of Scripts on Cyprus. This website, which is maintained by the Program in Aegean Scripts and Prehistory at the University of Texas, contains the complete corpus of inscriptions offered in the print version, The PASP Database for the Use of Scripts on Cyprus compiled by Nicolle Hirschfeld (Salamanca, 1996). From the site: “This database contains a complete record of inscriptions in all languages and on all media from the island of Cyprus through the Roman period. It includes Cypro-Minoan, Eteo-Cypriot and Cypriot Syllabic inscriptions which had been discovered up to the time of this database’s original creation (c. 1996). The “Type” field relates the Script Type in abbreviations. These are: CM – Cypro-Minoan EC – Eteo-Cypriot CS – Cypriot Syllabic GA – Greek Alphabetic RA – Roman Alphabetic Ph – Phoenician Eg – Egyptian.” For sculpture: of particular interest are the many inscriptions found on limestone sculptures, altars, and stelai. Search Hints: limestone or statue under the search field ‘material/object’ or simply search by site (e.g., Golgoi, Idalion, Voni). Extremely valuable for tracking inscriptions to divinities in Cypriot sanctuaries; type the name of the divinity (Apollo, Artemis, etc.) under the search field ‘Nature’.

The Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites (Princeton, 1976) (via Perseus)

Edited by Richard Stillwell, the somewhat outdated but nevertheless valuable Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites can still be consulted for basic information on numerous sites in the classical Mediterranean. Cypriot sites are featured prominently, including Amathous, Chytroi, Golgoi, Idalion, Kition, Kourion, Lapithos, Marion, Palaipaphos (Kouklia), Salamis, Soloi, and Tamassos. Most entries, written by K. Nicolaou, include bibliographies (with references through the 1970s).