Cite this as: Recht, L., Zeman-Wisniewska, K., Clark, B. and Yamasaki, M. 2025 Excavations at Late Bronze Age Erimi-Pitharka, Cyprus: The 2024 season, Internet Archaeology 69. https://doi.org/10.11141/ia.69.1
Erimi-Pitharka is a Late Bronze Age (Late Cypriot/LC IIC-IIIA) site in the Kouris Valley of south-central Cyprus. A regional centre in the Kouris Valley, Erimi-Pitharka specialised in production and storage of agricultural products such as grain, olive oil and wine, exemplified by workshops and installations throughout the site, and a dedicated building in Area I/1A. The Area I/1A building is a large complex consisting of a combination of interior and exterior spaces, including rooms, passageways, open and semi-open spaces. The drystone and mudbrick walls and installations were often carved into the natural bedrock, thus creating semi-subterranean rooms and demonstrating a strategy that took full advantage of the local landscape.
New excavations were started in 2022 and continued in 2023 and 2024. Here we present the preliminary results of the 2024 campaign. The aim of this latest campaign was to further understand the extent and role of the Area I/1A building. To achieve this, work was continued in previous trenches, and four new trenches were opened in extension of the previous ones. These investigations revealed additional rooms, open spaces and industry-related features, including the largest and as yet most formal room with impressive architecture and finds assemblage. The finds, consisting primarily of ceramic sherds and worked stone tools, further support the role of the complex and Erimi-Pitharka as a site of local and regional production and storage.
Corresponding author: Lærke Recht
rechtl@tcd.ie
University of Graz / Moesgaard Museum
Katarzyna Zeman-Wiśniewska
Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski University, Warsaw
Brigid Clark
Independent Scholar
Mari Yamasaki
University of Warsaw
Figure 1a: Area 1A Eastern trenches excavated in 2024. Drone shot of the excavated area. Figure 1b: Plan of the excavated area, reflecting the phase immediately prior to stone collapse, with the exception of W32, which is from an earlier phase. The sequences of the main stratigraphic units (L=Locus) for each space are marked within the yellow rectangles. Photo and plan by L. Recht.
Figure 2: The sequences of loci in Room 108 and Room 109, from top to bottom. Photos by L. Recht.
Figure 3: The sequence of loci in Space 110, from top to bottom, and extension of Trench 12. Photos by L. Recht.
Figure 4a, Figure 4b and Figure 4c: Selected finds from Space 110. a. Worked stone objects. b-c. Ceramics. Photos by L. Gran, drawings by M. Yamasaki, E. Semidei, E. de Koning and A. O'Keeffe, digitised by L. Recht.
Figure 5: Feature F3/F4 and its main finds in reverse stratigraphic sequence. Photos by L. Recht, L. Gran and M. Schutti, drawings by M. Yamasaki, digitised by L. Recht.
Figure 6: Selected finds from pit F2. Photos by L. Gran and L. Recht, drawings by M. Yamasaki, E. de Koning, E. Semidei, Y. Amar and M. Schutti, digitised by L. Recht.
Figure 7a and Figure 7b: Selection of ceramics from the 2024 season. a. Cooking/Coarse ware, Pithos ware and Plain White Wheelmade ware. b. Base Ring ware, Monochrome ware, White Slip ware, Aegean-type ware and Mycenaean ware. c. Other miscellaneous wares. Photos by L. Gran and L. Recht, drawings by E. Semidei, E. de Koning, M. Yamasaki, E. Paizi, M. Schutti, A. O'Keeffe and C. Sanfilipo, digitised by L. Recht.
Figure 8: Neolithic sherds from locus L134. Photos by L. Gran, digitised by L. Recht.
Figure 9: Other terracotta, stone, metal and shell finds. Photos by L. Recht and L. Gran, drawings by M. Yamasaki, digitised by L. Recht.
Animation: Animation showing the sequence of wall construction, based on the building technique, relations and depth of the walls. Created by L. Recht.
Model 1: The excavated area of the 2024 season (end of excavation). Photos and model by L. Recht.
Model 2: Bovine figurine FN24. Photos by L. Recht.
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