More evidence of Kourion earthquake
Posted on 08/17/2014 11:49:52 AM PDT by SunkenCiv
The Department of Antiquities has announced the completion of the 2014 excavation season of the Kourion Urban Space project (KUSP) under the direction of Dr. Thomas W. Davis of the Tandy Institute for Archaeology at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas.
This year’s excavations uncovered the remains of more victims of the massive earthquake that destroyed Kourion in the fourth century AD. According to an official announcement, initial analysis indicates the remains consist of two adults, a juvenile, and an infant.
The family was found huddled together; the infant was found under the right arm of one of the adults.The bones were badly crushed and, in some instances, located directly under collapsed architectural stones.
The house was rich in material cultural remains. Fragments of a large imported glass plate were found around and under portions of the earthquake tumble. The plate was manufactured from bundles of hollow yellow glass canes which were fused together in a dark green matrix. These plates are made in Egypt, and are usually found in Coptic cemeteries. The Kourion plate provides what may be the best dated example in the world, the Antiquities Department said.
KUSP has completed the third season of a long-term archaeological investigation at the site of Kourion in the Limassol district.
KUSP partners include the Australian Institute of Archaeology, the University of Cyprus, the Cyprus Technical University and the Western Sovereign Base Area Archaeology Society.
Kourion was recorded by numerous ancient authors including Ptolemy, Stephanus of Byzantium, Hierocles and Pliny the Elder. The city has passed through different phases spanning the Hellenistic, Roman and Christian periods.
(Excerpt) Read more at cyprus-mail.com ...
More evidence of Kourion earthquake
Kourion is interesting partly because its destruction and abandonment due to earthquake is substantiated by the finding of human remains crushed by the falling masonry. That's actually unusual. People then as now tended to flee into the open.
The quake may have struck at night.
The walls are a nice mix of ashlars and uncut fillers. I wonder how high a level of society stonemasons occupied in antiquity.
Possible, but I think the temple was the site where the remains were found. In Pompeii, the staff in the temple of Isis (the goddess, not the current jihadists) fled on foot with the temple treasury, but at least some of them didn’t make it — the air pockets where their remains had been also held the gold and whatnot. That was during an eruption of course.
> The complex was badly damaged in an earthquake in the middle of the 4th century AD, after which there is very little evidence for cult activity, though there are signs of decline even before this disaster. The rise of Christianity during this time would have discouraged the extensive reconstruction of the sanctuary, especially after the imperial edict of AD 395 closing the pagan temples. The town itself, perhaps weakened by economic decline and the impact of earlier seismic activity, was also devastated by earthquakes in the 4th century AD. Dramatic evidence for this has been revealed in the ruins of houses on the acropolis. Despite this setback, the town was eventually rebuilt, perhaps after a period of abandonment, but apparently thrived into Late Antiquity when the city was the seat of the local bishop, probably based in the fine Christian basilica on the acropolis.
The above story said the four people were found in a house. I was guessing they were awakened by tremblors, grabbed the kids and tried to escape. Totally speculative of course.
The Current FReepathon Pays For The Current Quarter's Expenses?
Yes, but the first finds, hmm, 40, 45 years ago, in that temple, would have been buried at the same time. :’)
“The house was rich in material cultural remains.”
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I was referring to the couple and kids in the house.
I believe this excavation lies within the British base at Akrotiri. The Brits retained two bases on Cyprus after independence. This one hosts RAF Akrotiri, historically the winter training home of the Red Arrows.
They were probably watching the wall, since TV hadn’t been invented yet. ;”)
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