Volume 8, Issue 2
July 2006
Les continues his Cyprus sky at night,
and I am sorry to say that Gerry’s
gardening through the year has come to
its last section, taking us through July
and August and a step by step guide to
turning your grapes into raisins.
Nick Bates, a Maroni resident for many
years and now embarking on a project of
building energy efficient houses in
Psematismenos is our village at work for
this edition.
For anybody who would like to
contribute articles or readers comments
for the next edition please email them to:
[email protected].
Mycenean Greek vase with painted chariots
from Maroni, now in the British Museum
Open weekdays except
Monday 7-9:30 pm
Sunday lunch 12:30 - 3:30
24 33 34 84
99 12 61 13
20
Summer’s arrived and so has the July/
August edition of the Maroni news. Due
to a lot of people in the village having
visitors from overseas during the
summer months, Alison South has kindly
put together an article about the
archaeology sites and finds in the area to
give you an idea of the history and what
was before; I am sure this will be of
interest to anybody new or visiting the
area.
Don’t forget you can also access our past
issues online. Check out the improved
layout Tony has designed for us at
www.maroninews.net.
Hope all our readers enjoy the summer
months on behalf of the Maroni News
team.
WARNING
Due to the high fire risk during the summer
months, take especial care not to drop
cigarette ends or to burn rubbish as fires can
spread quickly out of control.
Hi
Dear Newseditor
Sorry but unable to find or download the
Maroni news article. Re Internet connection
in the Village and peripheral, area.
Many thanks [for passing on the information
about the May Maroni News]. Please let your
readers know that at Droushia Heights Hotel
we still have our presentations every month.
We are interested in getting involved with
this, as we hope to move in by the end of the
year, Is there a form to fill in that could be
sent? Or how can we help?
Vic Lawton, by email
We’ve sent Vic a copy of the CYTA application form. If you are in Maroni, you can find
the forms in the co-op bank. Further information is available from http://www.callcentre.cyta.com.cy. Alternatively you can
phone CYTA free of charge at: 8000-8080 or
by fax at: 8000-8081 or email: [email protected]
We’re always happy to have input from
our readers so if you have any suggestions, questions, praise or criticism of
the magazine, don’t hesitate to let us
know. We’re also happy to consider
submissions of articles for inclusion in
the magazine; 400 - 800 words on any
topic our readers may appreciate.
Lectures are held at the Conference Room of
the Cyprotel Droushia Heights at 6:30
p.m. followed by a buffet dinner at the very
special price of 6:50 CYP per person .
In May we had one lecture by Mr. Nick
Symons the Director of the Cyprus
Environmental Studies Center.
Drousiotis’ Cyprus 1974 Greek Coup and
Turkish Invasion includes an introduction
covering the years 1947 to 1970. Published
by Bibliopolis, ISBN 3933925762 and available here through the Hellenic Distribution
Agency.
than simply to dip into. A
couple of the press quotes
use the word ‘witty’ to
describe the style, and
Richard Davenport-Hines,
writing in the TLS, described it as “a pleasure to
read” .
You can call Hellenic on 22878500, or use
the website at www.hellenicmags.com to join
their book club. The book club offers substantial discounts on all the books in stock,
and will deliver free of charge to your door.
The first time I tried this I was confused at
first, since the website has no credit card
payment section - you simply pay when the
books are delivered, a great boon for people
who are reluctant to divulge credit card details over the internet.
Harking back to Andrea
Levy’s book, I looked up
‘immigration’ to find that there’s a chapter
heading quoting the Daily Express from July
1956 - “Would you let your daughter marry a
black man?” Signs of the times.
Dipping in the index again, I tried ‘Cyprus’.
Surprisingly, there’s no reference. Under
‘Makarios’ I found only a fleeting mention of
the Archbishop’s release from detention.
Hellenic did not have either of the novels in
stock, but I find that play dot com,
(www.play.com) which is based in the Channel Isles, offers a good service with discounted prices and free postal delivery.
Rgds,
Philippos
We’ve asked the Drousia Heights Hotel to let
us have advance information on their
programme, so that we can let our readers
know about events in plenty of time.
With the weather hotting up, it’s worthwhile
considering a break in the hills, and the
Droushia Heights is an excellent
establishment, situated in the hillside above
Paphos, with terrific views over the coast of
Polis and the Chrysochou Bay.
This is a strange omission from a book that
has a last chapter entitled “On to 1964”. For
that period in Cyprus’ history I have to rely
on my final summer book. Makarios
Call them on 26332351, fax26332353 or
email [email protected]
Ding Dong! Avon calling,..
My name is Natalie, I am an English
speaking girl living in Maroni village and
selling Avon cosmetics.
If anybody would like to take a look at the
latest Avon book give me a ring on
99806768 and I will call round to drop you
one off.
2
19
Barbara’s Bookshelf
Maroni News
Editorial Committee
I usually think of summer
as a time when I have an
excuse to read trashy
novels and slushy magazines; only because I
don’t want to risk getting sunscreen and salt
water on any of my decent books. This summer, however, I’ve books to read that will
necessitate me staying out of the sun and sea.
They are also books that will take me on a
nostalgic trip back in time.
from the past to the ‘present’ of 1948. The
novel has all you could desire; plot, characters, great dialogue and a clever twist at the
end. It’s published by Headline Book Publishing Ltd, ISBN 075530750X.
Editor - Tamsin Eleftheriou
Chairman - Mimis Neocleous
Treasurer - Leslie Bennett
Small island is set in the 1940s, so a natural
progression was to buy one set in the 1950s.
The Lost ort of Keeping Secrets promises to
be the “enchanting story of Penelope Wallace
and her eccentric
family at the start of
the Rock’n’roll era”,
according to the publisher’s blurb. The
Lost Art of Keeping
Secrets is by Eva
Rice, also from Headline Books ISBN
0755325508.
It all started with reading Andrea Levy’s
book, Small Island. This is the story of Jamaican immigrants, Gilbert Joseph and his
wife, Hortense, who leave Jamaica to start a
better life in England. The book is full of the
prejudices of both the immigrants and the
Londoners they interact with.
The story flows backwards and forwards
through the lives of the four main characters,
My next book was a
case of mistaken identity. Still following
the theme of mid-20th century England, I read
the title of Never Had it So Good and ordered
it, thinking the book would be another novel.
It is, instead, “a history of Britain from Suez
to the Beatles”. ISBN 0349115303, Never
Had it so Good is written by Dominic Sandbrook and published by Abacus.
Publicity / Printing - Barbara Strain
Village Com Rep - Mike Demetriou
Spiritual Advisor - Father Gregori
Ex-officio - Neoclis Neocleous
www.maroninews.net
email: [email protected]
Telephone : 99 859266
Oven baked lamb (Kleftiko) every Thursday
For a reference book it is one to read rather
18
3
Maroni Art Group
The Maroni Art Group is continuing to
increase in number and we are delighted
so many of you are joining us on a Tuesday Morning in the Old School from
09.30 to mid-day.
The atmosphere is superb and we are all
finding inspiration not only from our
surroundings in the beautiful village of
Maroni but also from each other. We are
a very informal Group, painting and
drawing in a variety of mediums and
styles and producing some interesting
and colourful work.
Now that the heat of Summer has begun
we are finding that the paint is drying on
4
our brushes before they touch the paper
so we have all agreed to 'break-up' for
the Summer Holidays and resume once
more in September.
We will therefore end our first 'term' on
Tuesday the 27th June and we plan to
follow our usual 'Painting morning' with
a Group Lunch at Diana's at Zygi. Our
new 'term' will commence on Tuesday
the 12th September.
If anyone would like to join us or would
like more information about the Group
please do not hesitate to contact Sue Lait
on 24 332731 or Rosemary Corner on 24
333383.
Father
Gregory’s
Comments
What’s On
Here’s a selection of the highlights from the
CTO events guide for July and August:
6 & 7 July - STOMP at the Patticheion
Municipal Amphitheatre, Larnaca at21:00. A
group of people working together, each one
using something unique to the show percussion, movement skills or comic timing.
6 t h August is the
metamorphosis of Jesus
(the Ascension), so we will have service
morning and evening on that day.
23 July - THE SCORPIONS at the Tsireion
Stadium, Limassol, 21:00. Famous rock
music group play for one performance only.
At the end of July on 29th, the village party
will take place at the Maroni Football
Stadium, I will be attending and hope to see
our readers enjoying themselves.
26 July - Romeo & Juliet with the Russian
Imperial Ballet at Limassol Municipal
Gardens Theatre
From 1st to 15th August we will be having a
service every evening for the Virgin Mary, to
pray in her memory for the time that she left
us.
27 July - Romeo & Juliet with the Russian
Imperial Ballet at Makarios III Amphitheatre,
Nicosia
Hope all our readers enjoy the summer
months.
29 Aug - 10 Sept - Limassol Wine Festival
17
Village Affairs
Recipe by Tamsin
with a representation of between two and
three members.
We are still awaiting full details of the local
government reforms, which are expected to
be in place by the end of the year.
Watermelon and Lemon Granite
Ingredients
150 grams caster sugar
1 whole watermelon
150ml water
grated rind and juice of 2 small lemons or 1
large
Mix the puree with
the cooled sugar and water, lemon juice,
lemon rind and pour into a roasting tin so that
it is no more than 2.5cm deep 1 inch and
freeze for around 2 hours.
Method
Put the water and sugar in a saucepan and
heat gently until sugar has dissolved, bring to
the boil for 1 min then set aside and leave to
cool.
Remove from freezer and break up with a
fork into crystals, put back into the freezer for
a further 2 hours but removing every half
hour and breaking up with a fork. Remove,
place into tall glasses and serve.
You can add a dash of vodka or rum and turn
this drink into a nice barbeque drink
Remove the fruit from the watermelon, put it
into the liquidizer and mix briefly until the
pulp is pureed but pips are still whole and
then put the pulp through a sieve to remove
pips.
This drink is best made on the day you intend
to serve it but if making in advance remove
from freezer half an hour before serving.
16
At the time of writing, it is not yet
determined what the community will be
called, nor where the administrative centre
will be situated.
The idea is to modernise the system that used
to have an elected Mukhtar and
representatives for each village.
Demographic changes have left some
villages almost depopulated, whilst others
have grown.
In the meantime, our village Committee
continues to meet at least twice a month to
discuss village affairs. These meetings are
open to the public.
Under the new system the District will be
divided into Communities of approximately
10,000 electors. For some of the larger
villages there will be little obvious change,
but the 19 villages which will form the
community that includes Maroni will still
consist of only about 8,000 electors.
Don’t forget that EU nationals resident in
Cyprus are eligible to vote in the December
local elections. You need to register with the
District Office (on the Larnaca Seafront, near
the Police Station). You will need your ID
card and a photograph and there is a simple
form to fill in. Copies of the forms, along
with an English translation, are available in
the Maroni Mukhtar’s Office.
The Representatives of the Community will
be elected on the basis of one Representative
for every 200 voters. This leaves Maroni
5
with the sun. Ancient civilizations believed
they were actually two different objects, so
they called the one that rose "The morning
star" and the one that sets "The evening star"
we now know these to be one and the same.
Venus rotates "backwards" so the sun rises in
the west and sets in the east..
Maroni News Fun Pages
 Husband: If it weren't for my money, the
See If You Can Figure Out What These
Words Have In Common.......
Banana
Dresser
Grammar
Potato
Revive
Uneven
Voodoo
Assess
house wouldn't be here! Wife:
"My dear, if it weren't for your money, I
wouldn't be here".
 A banker fell overboard on a friend's sail
boat. The friend held up a
life jacket, not knowing if the banker could
swim and shouted "can you float
alone?" "Obviously", the banker replied,
"but it's a heck of a time to talk
about business."
 What do you call a rich bear? Winnie the
Pools.
 Business ethics: A customer orders £50
worth of widgets. You wrap them
up and receive a payment note. As they
leave you realise they've given you
two £50 notes. Now: Should you or shouldn't you tell your partner?
 Why did the scarecrow get a bonus from
his boss? Because he was out
standing in his field.
 Husband: "Going down the pub, get yer
coat
on".
Wife
(surprised):
"You're taking me to the pub?!" Husband
(growls): "No, I'm going alone and
turning the heating off".
 Got stung by a bee the other day - paid £20
for a jar of honey!
Thanks to Rashmi for this little test of your
English skills: answers on page 7
Our inbox has been rather full of jokes this
month, so here’s a selection to make you
laugh ….
 Prices are going up since the European
currency came along, you used to
be able to spend a penny, but now it's called
'euronating'!
 Q: How does the Pope cover his Ebay
debts. A: Papal
 A MoneySaver is walking down the street
when he comes across a homeless man who
says, "any chance of 10p for a cup of tea,
mate?" The MoneySaver’s eyes light up.
"Here's 20p, get me one too!"
Inner Region Planets
VENUS
Min distance from sun 67 million miles
Max distance from sun 68 million miles
Diameter 7,522 miles (1,2300 Km)
The rotation period of Venus is 243 days and
takes about 2/3 of an earth year to orbit the
sun.
Venus is one of the brightest objects in the
sky so it is clearly visible to the naked eye. It
can be tricky to spot as it is always near the
sun, because of this it always rises and sets
MARS
Min distance from the sun 128 million miles
Max distance from the sun 249 million miles
Diameter 4,217 miles. (6,790 Km)
The Martian day is only slightly longer than
our own, but the Martian year is nearly twice
as long.
Mars was named after the Roman god of war
because it reminded people of blood.
Through a decent sized telescope the icecaps
of Mars can be seen. Two moons orbit Mars,
Phobos (Fear) and Deimos (Panic).
In the next issue we’ll look at the asteroid
belt and the outer region planets.
From Andy Renals, by email
6
15
The Night Sky by Leslie Bennett
Hi everyone, this edition we will
take a look at our neighbouring
planets and a few myths
associated with them.
Our solar system is made up of
nine planets, one star and an
asteroid belt.
Mercury is closest to the sun followed by
Venus, Earth, Mars, The asteroid belt,
Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto.
In Greek myth Apollo was the God of the
Sun. Son of Zeus and Leto he was twin
brother of the goddess Artemis. His most
famous sacred place was at Delphi, site of the
Oracle of Delphi.
THE SUN
The Sun is the closest star to earth, 3,000,000
miles away and light takes roughly 8 seconds
to reach us. Sun spots can be seen on the
sun's surface, to see these project the sun's
image onto a piece of white card or paper
using a telescope or binoculars, check each
day at the same time to see if the sunspots
have moved.
One Mercurian day is 59 times that of earth,
but there are only 88 days to the Mercurian
year.
Mercury's orbit is so close to the sun that it is
difficult to see from the ground, it is never
far from the sun in the sky and because of the
sun's glare can only be seen at twilight.
Timocharis made the first recorded
observation of mercury in 265 BC.
14
MERCURY
Max distance from sun 43.4 million miles.
Min distance from sun 28.6 million miles.
Diameter 4,840 km
Do married people live longer than single
Thanks to Stu for these ‘philosophical’ questions, also sent by email:
Why do we press harder on a remote control when we know the batteries are flat?
Why do banks charge a fee on "insufficient
funds" when they know there is not
enough?
Why does someone believe you when you
say there are four billion stars, but check
when you say the paint is wet?
Why doesn't glue stick to the bottle?
Why do they use sterilized needles for
death by lethal injection?
Why doesn't Tarzan have a beard?
Why does Superman stop bullets with his
chest, but ducks when you throw a gun at
him?
Why do Kamikaze pilots wear helmets?
Whose idea was it to put an "S" in the word
"lisp"?
What is the speed of darkness?
Are there specially reserved parking spaces
for "normal" people at The Special Olympics?
If you send someone 'Styrofoam', how do
you pack it?
If the temperature is zero outside today and
its going to be twice as cold tomorrow, how
cold will it be?
If people evolved from apes, why are there
still apes?
If its true that we are here to help others,
what are the others doing here?
ones or does it only seem longer?
If someone with a split personality threatens to commit suicide, is it a hostage situation?
Can you cry underwater?
What level of importance must a person
have, before they consider assassinated
instead of just murdered?
If money doesn't grow on trees, why do
banks have branches?
Why does a round pizza come in a square
box?
How is it that we put man on the moon
before we figured out it would be a good
idea to put wheels on bigger suitcases?
Why is it that people say they "slept like a
baby" when babies wake up, like, every
two hours?
If a deaf person has to go to court, is it still
called a hearing?
Why do people pay to go up tall buildings
and then put money in binoculars to look at
things on the ground?
Why do doctors, when they ask you to
strip, leave the room or close the cubicle
curtain while you change?
Answer to the English quiz on page 6:
In all of the words listed, if you take the first
letter, place it at the end of the word, and
then spell the word backwards, it will be the
same word. Did you figure it out?
7
Village at Work
When I graduated in the UK, I went to
work for Birse Construction and always
having a passion for building and
creating things. Some years later I found
myself running my own successful
building and property refurbishment
company in central London although still
spending every holiday on this beautiful
island and over the years, building great
friendships and associations with Greek
Cypriots in Cyprus and in London.
During this time I started
to dream about escaping
the rat race of London
and settling permanently
in Cyprus.
Nick Bates of Panoramia Properties
My story
My name is Nicholas Bates .I have been
visiting Cyprus from the age of 7 where I
enjoyed summer holidays with my
parents every year until 1990 when my
parents and grand parents decided to
build holiday homes in Maroni.
In 2003, I managed with
some help to acquire a
number of building plots
in Psematismenos and
immersed myself in
research endeavouring to
find the most suitable
modern structure for a
comfortable home in A nice touch
Cyprus,
visiting
Australia, Germany and USA. After
Having built the homes and falling in
love with Cyprus, its people and fine
cuisine, we returned to Cyprus at every
opportunity making good friends and
slowly learning the rich culture and
language.
8
muslin or a fine cotton cloth. Dry by leaving
in the sun for 7-14 days or until there is no
moisture in the middle of the grape. Bring
them in at night as the temperature may drop.
The raisins may be stored in plastic bags or
glass canning jars. Storing under vacuum in
glass jars will result in a longer shelf life.
To vacuum package the raisins, place dried
raisins in canning jars. Place lids and rims
loosely on jars. Heat jars in oven at 160°C
(325 °F) for 15 minutes. Remove from oven
and tighten lids.
Now you have a complete yearly guide to
gardening in Cyprus month by month, if you
have kept your old editions, if not they are
available at www.maroninews.net I hope you
have found them both useful and enjoyable.
For more advice I can highly recommend
“Rebecca” garden centre opposite Maroni
beach, there you can find a very good selection of flowers, shrubs and trees. Anything
they have not got in stock they will happily
try and find for you. Their prices are extremely good and they will deliver locally.
If your hanging baskets are looking untidy
and have plants dying off, replace them with
drought tolerant plants such as trailing geraniums or rose moss. Or fill them with spider
plants; scarlet sage will also tolerate full sun
and will give you a
wonderful
scent,
but do not forget to
water them daily.
In your vegetable
plot sow seed potatoes, beans and
peas. Your figs will
be ready to pick
and grapes should
be plentiful. If you would like to make your
own sultanas from your white seedless
grapes, try this method:
To dry grapes: Select fully ripe sweet
grapes, which are firmly attached to the
stems.
They should have a tender skin, be firm, with
full colour and flavour. Sort, remove stems
and wash. Discard any imperfect grapes.
About 2.25 Kg (4½ lbs) of grapes will
yield .5 kg (1 lb) of raisins. Steam or place
grapes in boiling water for 30 seconds to one
minute until the skins crack. This will break
the skins to enable them to dry. To prepare a
pre-treatment antimicrobial solution, stir 1
teaspoon (5 grams) of citric acid into 1 litre
of cold water, OR mix equal parts of lemon
juice and cold water (ie 1 cup lemon juice
and 1 cup water). Put the boiled grapes in the
acidic solution for 10 minutes, drain, then
place grapes on a clean cloth, cover with
13
July
wait until next month before picking.
With the weather now getting warmer by the
day, watering is essential; save water by using your washing up water and bath water for
your borders and trees; every little helps. Try
to always water in the evening as there will
be less evaporation. Note any areas that are
particularly dry and make plans to shade
them or plant with drought tolerant varieties
of succulent plants.
If your herb garden is going wild like mine,
prune back and hang in bunches to dry for
use in the winter months. Try putting a few
sprigs of basil and rosemary in a vase to help
repel mosquitoes and a few sprigs of mint
and dried chillies put in strategic places will
help to deter ants in your house.
Your vegetable garden will still be producing
tomatoes and you should be picking the last
of your cabbages and broccoli. Sweet corn
and melons will be ready to pick this month.
Hibiscus and bougainvilleas look stunning at
this time of year and you will also get a good
display from your roses, lavender, jasmine
and plumbago. Fuchsias and busy lizzie (any
impatiens) suffer from the wind and very hot
sun, so if possible move them to a shaded and
protected area in your garden or courtyard.
Do not forget to dead head your roses, antirrhinums and pansies to extend their flowing
period.
August
The weather is now very hot and your garden
will be suffering from the heat looking tired
and weary from the sun and lack of rainfall,
watering is now your priority. Any new
plants, shrubs or trees put in earlier this year
should be well watered until they are established. Keep dead heading your flowers to
prolong their flowing period.
Continue to spray your
fruit trees for fruit fly
and watch out for mildew. White seedless
grapes “Sultanias” are
ready for picking this
month, if you want to
dry them for sultanas
having experienced living in a concrete
and brick home in Cyprus on and off
since 1990 and speaking to many locals,
ex-pats and returning Cypriots who had
purchased a new property in Cyprus, I
found many had complaints and some
being wholly dissatisfied with their
purchase.
Back in the UK I came across the
Kingspan Tek System which seemed in
my experience to outperform all other
contenders and having seen much
documented evidence of rigorous system
testing against fire, strong winds,
earthquakes, temperature and moisture/
dampness etc. decided to use the system
to full benefit in Cyprus.
Psematismenos house under construction
to enlist their help to produce a high
quality and low energy comfortable
family home for the future to cater for
the discerning client who expects
immediate and long term satisfaction
from a state of the art Low Energy home.
Our development at Panoramia Point can
be viewed at any time by contacting
myself on 99335028 .
Having heard so many stories from
dissatisfied property buyers and already
knowing experts in their field I decided
On display will be cape honeysuckle, plumbago and lantana. Madagascar Periwinkle
will also give you a good display of colour
from white to rose pink; use this to cover
empty spaces left by your annuals.
12
9
church was 27 metres long, and finds included pottery, lamps, glass vessels and
bronze coins.
Maroni Archaeology: a beginner’s guide
by Alison South
Although there are no archaeological sites
open to the public in the area around Maroni,
it is in fact quite famous among archaeologists for its importance to early Cypriot history. I have described the main sites and
some interesting finds in previous issues of
Maroni News (available on the web at
www.maroninews.net, see especially Vols
1:3, 1:6, 2:5, 3:3, 3:5, 5:1, 5:6). Here I try to
give a quick overview for new readers or
anyone who would like a short guide.
tional contacts, mainly due to trade in copper
from its mines. The tombs contained rich
grave gifts including gold and silver jewellery, bronze objects, glass and faience vessels, carved ivory, imported pottery such as
Mycenean Greek 'kraters' (jars for serving
wine) with painted scenes of chariots, bulls
and octopuses, and many kinds of ancient
Cypriot pottery. Some of these finds can be
seen in the British Museum and the Cyprus
Museum in Nicosia.
In the late 19th century AD, British and other
foreign residents began to develop interest in
Cypriot archaeology, mainly for the purpose
of collecting antiquities for museums and
private collections. Attention was drawn to
Maroni, mainly because its name is similar to
the ancient Cypriot city known in historical
sources as Marion (although actually Marion
has turned out to be near Polis). The first
significant research here was carried out by
the British Museum, which organised excavations at several of the most important sites in
the island in the 1890s. The Museum’s team
dug for a few weeks at Maroni-Tsaroukas
and Vournes (these are traditional names for
various localities). At Tsaroukas on the coast
south-east of Maroni village, they found
many tombs of the Late Bronze Age (15001200 BC). This was a period when Cyprus
enjoyed considerable prosperity and interna-
Following the British Museum’s work, there
was no large-scale archaeological research at
Maroni for many years, although sites of
various periods were known through chance
finds or surface survey. Eventually Prof.
Gerald Cadogan, sponsored by the University
of Cincinnati and the British School (of Archaeology) at Athens, carried out excavations
at Vournes (on the road from Maroni southeast towards the sea) in the mid 1980s to
1990s. His team uncovered a very large Late
Bronze Age building with fine stone masonry, which was probably a centre for administration and storage of agricultural produce such as olive oil. Finds included huge
storage jars and a few inscriptions in the mysterious, still undeciphered ancient 'CyproMinoan' script. The Late Bronze Age buildings at Vournes give clear evidence of the
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In addition to these major excavations, from
time to time there are small-scale investigations, usually by the Department of Antiquities of Cyprus, whenever something is discovered which needs to be assessed or is in
danger of destruction.
well-organized people who lived in the area
at that time, and were involved in activities
including agriculture, food preparation, olive
oil production, textile manufacture, metalworking and writing.
In the 1990s, another project directed by Prof.
Sturt Manning (previously Reading University, now at Cornell University, USA) excavated again at Tsaroukas and discovered
more tombs and Late Bronze Age domestic
and industrial buildings. The research included some underwater work which revealed
pottery and stone anchors, showing that this
area had been used as an anchorage from
early in the Late Bronze Age (1600 BC). This
team also carried out an archaeological survey of the southern Maroni valley and located
numerous sites of almost all periods from
Neolithic to Medieval.
Prof Manning's team also excavated a Late
Roman (5th-7th century AD) church at
Petrera south of Maroni, which had been
damaged by bulldozing. The three-aisled
Unfortunately there is no "popular" book or
guidebook about the archaeological sites of
Maroni, but the archaeologists have published two books and numerous specialised
articles about their finds (if anyone would
like a list of these, please contact me at email:
[email protected]). The excavations
at Maroni-Vournes are fenced and not open
to the public, and there is little to see now at
Tsaroukas. The Petrera excavation is not
fenced and you can see the wall foundations
and floors of the church, in a field to the east
of the road which leads towards the sea from
the chapel and cemetery on the south side of
the village.
Other nearby sites are the famous and impressive early Neolithic village with interesting
reconstructions of the Neolithic houses at
Choirokoitia (or Khirokitia in the older
spelling), which is open daily; and another
Neolithic site at Kalavasos-Tenta under the
giant wigwam roof just north of the motorway to Limassol (during summer 2006 Tenta
is closed for some work on the roof, expected
to reopen Mondays to Fridays in the autumn).
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