The dinners most often begin with various dips such as houmos, tzitziki, and taramasalata with warm pitta bread wedges.  There is always a fresh Greek salad with cool cucumber, juicy red tomatoes, crumbly chunks of rich feta cheese, olives and zippy onions all drizzled with locally made golden-green olive oil and lemon.  If we are lucky, the delicious fried haloumi cheese is on the menu and is quickly eaten.  The main course could be souvlaki (kebab) or pastichio (a pasta dish somewhat like lasagna) with the world famous Cypriot fried potatoes and village greens.   Desserts consist of various fruits such as fresh sweet figs straight from the tree, juicy oranges, grapes or cool watermelon slices.

The villagers find us entertaining and look forward to our seasonal visits.  They baptize us all with endearing nicknames, and talk about our strange foreign habits.  Until early August we reign supreme as the focus of attention and comic relief from their daily routines. 

When working on the survey project in Kouklia, our day starts very early, before even light appears on the horizon.  We stumble around in the dark as the last stars blink at us.  The local donkey brays in spasmed agony, and the forever hopeful rooster crows at an invisible dawn, forcing the more sleepy archaeologists awake.  Survey teams drive out in groups of 5 to their designated locations, UTM maps tucked under arms and compasses in hand.  The trip is hair-raising.  We drive along winding roads deep into the mist-covered hills, honking the horn around each narrow curve as many of the drivers cut the corners without compunction.  When we finally arrive at our destination, we orient ourselves using the map and the local landscape features.  Then, side by side, we each walk a transect 100meters wide and 1km long, zig-zagging from one side of the transect to the other.  We are looking for signs of sites – artifacts on the soil surface, structure walls, and possibly hillside tombs. When we reach the end of our transect, we sweep the next 50X 100m rectangle and reconvene at the car.  This way we map out all visible archaeological sites on one square km of land every day. 

While surveying, I encounter an old woman herding her sheep.  She watches me from a distance for quite some time, as I weave my way towards her, back and forth through the dry grain fields dotted with occasional olive or carob tree.  When I come close to her she greets me, and no doubt thinking that the sun has made a muddle of my mind, suggests helpfully that I might like to use my car and take the road instead of walking through the fields.  I explain in my school book Greek that we are archaeologists looking for ancient sites.  She nods and wishes me luck, quite obviously unconvinced. 

By the end of two months of surveying, we have become very strong and have built up our stamina and cardiovascular fitness.  We have also learned more about the landscape and people than we ever expected.  Our Greek has improved as we converse with the local Cypriots and share some of their food.  We are often invited in for tea and must decline as we have a schedule to keep.  In my opinion, there is no better way to learn about a country than to leave the car behind and travel by foot through the countryside. 

Later, after a swim, we wash, catalogue, measure, photograph draw and analyze the artifacts we have collected.  At the end of the season, these objects will be placed in the museum for other archaeologists to study.  At 7pm we finish and go for dinner, the rich aroma of oven baked goat (kleftiko) and roast potatoes (the best in the world) wafting through the narrow street.

There are many more stories to tell, but they must wait as our taxi finally arrives in Athienou.  We pile out beside the gymnasium, our headquarters for the next month, and meet the rest of the crew.  In 1974 Turkey invaded Cyprus and the result was a divided land:  the Cypriot Greeks live in the south and the Cypriot Turks and mainland Turks live in the north.   Atheniou is close to the Green Line, between the two Cypruses, the Turkish guns on the hills above, lending an ominous air to the proceedings.

Our day begins before the crack of dawn but unlike the survey project in Kouklia, this one is an excavation project.  The morning begins with a bumpy ride to the ancient site of Malloura a few kilometers to the south.  The truck is driven by the forever lively, M. Toumazou.  He is the director of the excavation and was born in Famagusta which is now in Turkish hands.  After their flight from the Turkish invasion, his refugee family settled in Athienou.   Today, many family members are willing supporters of the archaeological project. 

Malloura is a huge sanctuary site and is rich with artifacts from centuries of visiting pilgrims from all corners of the ancient Mediterranean world.   In the early morning the site is cool and peaceful.  We set up our screens, trowels, wheelbarrows and shovels in our various units and begin excavating.  The anticipation of finding objects which were touched by hands thousands of years ago is enough motivation to keep us working steadily throughout the day and we are not disappointed. We have many work-stopping discoveries of limestone and marble sculptures, new structure walls, and possibly, an intact tomb.The sun rises as does the heat and the dust.  At noon, when the site is getting too hot to work, we return to Athienou for lunch after which, the archaeologists go to the lab to work with the discovered artifacts.  Some wash and catalogue artifacts, while others analyze and  illustrate the sculptures, terracotta figurines and ceramics. 

Occasionally, the day ends with a swim in the sparkling blue sea to the south.  Or we may treat ourselves to a wonderful dining experience at The Mill Restaurant in Dali (one of the best restaurants in Cyprus).  Dali, the village in which the archaeologist Pam Gaber works, amongst others, also boasts the most amazing homemade ice cream.  The ice cream man always seems to show up just as the archaeologists are leaving the field at noon, or at the end of the day’s work.  He offers us various flavors depending on the fruit of the season which keep our taste buds drooling:  Fresh apricot, zippy lemon, perfumy rosewater, chartreuse green pistachio, and tangy orange.  My favourite is the rich, wine-red cherry. On our day off which is usually a Monday, we can catch up on letters, go shopping, visit the craft centers, take the bus to the beach or make trips back into history by visiting museums, and some of the other numerous archaeological sites in the area.  Nicosia offers the best shopping on the island. Part of the older section of the city has been refurbished with modern shops and stone-paved pedestrian streets which are lined with jewelry shops, top notch clothing boutiques, music and book shops and up-scale restaurants serving the typical Cypriote/Near Eastern dishes, as well as other various culinary delights.  . If not too exhausted from the day’s work, it is either to Plato’s restaurant that we might make our way in the evening, or the discos of Nicosia and Larnaca.   From the latter we emerge, happily exhausted and completely deafened.

Sometimes we visit Paphos on the west side of the island.  It has become quite a bustling town.  Shops and restaurants grow more numerous every year.  Pottery shops are numerous.  Some have adopted the ancient techniques and authentic designs; others have become modern in their designs, creating works of art in glorious colours. 

Continuing down to the harbour you will pass numerous tourist shops, the Saranda Kalones (40 columns) Archaeological site, and at the harbor itself numerous seafood restaurants.  The harbour is guarded by the Venetian fortress through which you can go on a tour.  We occasionally visit the archaeological sites in Polis situated  on the West coast to the north of Pafos.  It is perhaps the more peaceful of the main towns and is much like Pafos used to be in the 1980’s.This area was first “discovered” by the German expatriate community. 

The harbour boasts many fine seafood restaurants, boat cruises and biking tours.  The hills above Polis and Paphos are rich in culture.  Phiti is the weaving capital of the island.  Ladies sit at their looms for long hours making woven runners and blankets as the tour buses roll through the narrow streets.  Another island handicraft is the Lefkara lace, originating from the small village of Lefkara, just outside Limassol.  The craft is not limited to its original town, however.  Many an enterprising Cypriot craftswoman can be seen sitting outside her kitchen door, creating various works of art in lace.  Huge table cloth sets can be ordered on consignment and the smaller works are available on site.  The Cypriot Handicraft Organization is working hard to keep the culture and crafts alive on the island, and it is a strong supporter of the local artisans. 

Often when the heat is unbearable down on the dry plain where Athienou is located, a trip up into the cooler air of the Troodos Mountains is a wonderful relief.  Clear, cool streams gurgle and gush through the culverts and along the walking paths and roadsides and the fresh, heady scent of pine fills the air.  Geraniums and bouganvilla overflow their ceramic pots, and cats sun themselves on the window sills.  Occasionally in the winter there is enough snow in the Troodos to ski!  Kykkos monastery with it numerous arches, cloisters, bright and colourful mosaics, and hand painted icons provides a fascinating walk back into history.  During weekends and religious festivals, the local Cypriots stream up into the mountains in caravans of cars, brightly colored streamers fluttering out the windows.  The atmosphere is always that of a joyous celebration and connection with friends and family.

With all these many adventures, it is hard to believe that we still have time to do our archaeological survey, excavation, illustration and artifact analysis.  Somehow we manage!  There is plenty to do.  Cyprus has had such a rich history, with centuries of habitation and battles over supremacy in the eastern Mediterranean that there are many locations on the island with layers upon layers of previous habitation remains. Archaeological discoveries have been made which originate from a wide span of time – from well before the Neolithic 7000BC, through to the Bronze Age, into the time of Richard the Lionheart – he stopped in Cyprus on his way to the Third Crusade, residing in Limassol Castle with his Queen  Berengaria (who was said to have been no oil painting!) and continue all the way to modern times.  There are numerous projects ongoing in Cyprus, and even more sites awaiting archaeological excavation and study.   Because of this, we return many times to the island, year after year, to discover the clues and reconstruct the lives of the ancient peoples of Cyprus.  Their ancient lives and faces are most certainly echoed in those of the present-day Cypriots, who live not only in the tiny villages that still dot the wide green valleys and steep craggy landscape of this island, but also live in the sleek modern homes of the bustling cities.  Each Cypriot’s life is a rich tapestry of historical and artifactual connections between their life and that of their ancestors.  The thread from past to present is strong and clear.  Archaeology is indelibly printed on the Cypriot landscape and is available to all who seek its adventures.  Such travels will take you into a tapestry of ancient sites and legends, cultures and customs brought to life and into focus by the present-day traditional dances, music, crafts and delicious local dishes of the welcoming Cypriots.

The land and its people both past and present tug at our heart strings, 

”Oh Cyprus set in the sea
Would I could wend to thee!”

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