The dataset collected by the Pyla-Koutsopetria Archaeological
Project (PKAP) documents fieldwork that began in the summer of 2004
near the modern village of Pyla on the southern coast of Cyprus. Over
seven field seasons, PKAP teams documented the coastal zone of Pyla
using a combination of intensive pedestrian survey, geophysical
prospecting, and excavation. We systematically sampled 100 ha in the
area, recorded hundreds of thousands of artifacts on the surface, and
described hundreds of cut blocks and in situ architectural
features. After fieldwork, we studied over 15,000 of the artifacts. We
recorded the finds and features in a relational database (Microsoft
Access) and plotted them on a Cyprus Land Survey 1:5000 map using
Geographic Information System software (ArcGIS).
We developed a distributional approach that would produce a
high-resolution assemblage without overwhelming our logistical system.
Across the coastal plain where artifact densities were highest, we chose
grid units of 40 x 40 m (1,600 sq m), which were smaller than typical
siteless / non-site survey units (3,000-10,000 sq m) but larger than the
units used in intensive gridded collection of small sites (25-100 sq
m). Across the ridges and the lower density areas of the plain, we broke
with a standard grid and increased our unit size to about 5,000 sq m on
average, which is more typical of distributional survey generally. In
both the 1,600 sq m grid units and the larger non-gridded units, teams
of four field walkers traversed the unit at 10 m intervals with each
walker covering a 2 m wide swath through the unit.
To sample the site for artifacts, we employed a
high-resolution collection method called the "chronotype system" which
other projects had employed in Cyprus and Greece with much success. The
chronotype system assigns every artifact type (i.e., chronotype) to a
chronological and descriptive hierarchy based on specific physical
typological characteristics. Chronotypes range from the very precise
(e.g., "African Red Slip Form 99 – Rim Sherd," or "Micaceous Water Jar –
body sherd") to the very imprecise (e.g., "Medium Coarse body sherd –
Post-Prehistoric," or "Ancient Millstone"), but are always assigned to a
period, however narrow or broad. During survey near Pyla, walkers
collected at least one example of each part (rim, base, handle, sherd)
of each chronotype present in their transects. Especially diagnostic
sherds were then pulled for cataloguing, photographing, illustrating,
and publication.
In addition to artifact data, fieldwalkers also recorded
features in the unit (e.g., cut stone blocks and walls), as well as
information to locate the unit in space or contribute to the later
interpretation of artifact patterns: location and toponym, evidence of
current land use (e.g., olives, wheat, and barren), vegetation cover
(e.g., weeds, trees, and phrygana), vegetation height in relation to the
field walker (e.g., ankle high, knee high, waist high), the condition
of the soil, the surface clast composition, and surface visibility
(recorded at 10% intervals). These data offer environmental contexts for
assessing artifact densities across the whole of the site.
Potential Applications of the Data
The collection from the Pyla-Koutsopetria Archaeological
Project is particularly useful for researchers investigating diachronic
change in Mediterranean coastal settlement throughout Antiquity and
settlement patterns on Cyprus more specifically. The assemblage of Late
Roman fine ware is particularly robust and important for the
distribution of these high-visibility artifacts in the Eastern
Mediterranean. The collection also presents important dataset for
critiques of intensive pedestrian survey methods and practices in the
Mediterranean.
Current Disposition of the Collections
Approximately 20% of the collected finds are stored at the
Larnaka District Archaeological Museum in Larnaka Cyprus and labelled
according to unit and batch. The Elwyn B. Robinson Department of Special
Collections at the Chester Fritz Library at the University of North
Dakota houses paper copies of all records from the project. No complete
archive of the digital records presently exists.
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