Erimi Pamboula

History of Research

Porphyrios Dikaios (© Department of Antiquities, Cyprus)

The earliest excavations

The famous Cypriot archaeologist Porphyrios Dikaios conducted the earliest excavations at the site of Erimi Pamboula in the 1930's (between 1933-1935) uncovering only a small part (150 m2) of the Chalcolithic settlement. The thick stratigraphic sequence, reaching a depth of ca 5,5 m, proves the diachronic habitation of this area, while the successive layers of uninterrupted occupation and the rich archaeological finds make Erimi Pamboula one of the most important settlements of Chalcolithic Cyprus. Although there was a dearth of contemporary sites, the importance of Pamboula was soon realized by its excavator. Influenced by the dominant, at that time, culture-historical perspective, Dikaios proclaimed Pamboula as the "type site" of this subphase of the Cypriot Prehistory and, hence the Cypriot Chalcolithic (4000-2500 BC) was equated with the "Erimi culture".

Earliest publications and renewed investigations (1936-1988)

Soon after the end of Dikaios' excavations at Pamboula the final publication of the site appeared in the RDAC (1936). Another chapter referring to Erimi Pamboula was published by the same author a few decades later and was included in one of the famous volumes of the Swedish Cyprus Expedition (Dikaios 1962). These early publications, however, were characterised by a descriptive approach of the excavated remains and lacked any information about the zooarchaeological, archaeobotanical and other data. Equally, the study of movable finds was limited to their typological classification, while contextual information and the analysis of artefact distribution in space was minimal.

after Dikaios 1936, 5 (Fig. 1)

Plan of the excavated area at Erimi Pamboula, scale 1:250 (Dikaios 1936, Plate IIA.2)

The site of Pamboula was revisited in the 1980's when Heywood et al. (1981) conducted a brief surface survey including the collection and examination of new material. Despite the fact that this study did not include systematic excavations, the authors argued that the settlement extended to an area exceeding the 15 hectares, making Pamboula the largest recorded Chalcolithic site of the island. A few years later, Diane Bolger reexamined the available arcchaeological material as part of of her PhD that was eventually published in 1988. Beyond the fresh insights provided Bolger, it should be mentioned that this study has also included some unpublished material from earlier investigations.

Investigations within the 21st century

The Chalcolithic site of Erimi Pamboula was selected as one of the main case studies in I. Voskos' PhD (2013) and a subsequent monograph by the same author (Voskos 2021). The latter focused on storage activities and their wider socio-economic implications during the Late Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods in Cyprus. Pamboula was revisited once more between 2018 and 2021 as part of the interdisciplinary project NCCP (Neolithic and Chalcolithic Cyprus Project). Using cutting edge technologies and novel methodological approaches the members of the NCCP conducted a series of macroscopic and microscopic analyses on human/animal remains (e.g. palaeopathological analysis, stable isotope and strontium analysis), and also organic residue analyses on clay vessels. More studies on the organisation of domestic space and artefact/structure distribution with the use of GIS shed new light on various aspects of daily life in Chalcolithic Cyprus. The results were published in a series of collective papers (e.g. Voskos and Vika 2020; Roumpou et al. 2021; Voskos et al. 2021; Mantzourani et al. 2023; Kloukinas et al. 2023; Voskos et al. 2023).

Renewed excavations by the Department of Antiquities, Cyprus

The rapid urban development in the broader area of west Limassol district urged the archaeologists of the Department of Antiquities to carry out a number of new investigations. As a result of this, numerous rescue excavations were conducted in various plots around the site of Pamboula. Regarding plot 566, currently being systematically excavated by APEP, a number of trial trenches had been opened by contract archaeologist Maria Michael under the suprvision of curator Elena Stylianou.

Bibliography

Bolger, D. 1988. Erimi Pamboula: A Chalcolithic Settlement in Cyprus. British Archaeological Reports International Series 443. Oxford: British Archaeological Reports.
Dikaios, P. 1936. "The excavations at Erimi, 1933–1935: final report". Report of the Department of Antiquities, Cyprus: 1–81.
Dikaios, P. 1962. "The Stone Age". In P. Dikaios and J.R. Stewart (eds), Swedish Cyprus Expedition IV.1A. The Stone Age and Early Bronze Age, 1–204. Lund: Swedish Cyprus Expedition.
Heywood, H., S. Swiny, D. Whittingham and P. Croft. 1981. "Erimi revisited". Report of the Department of Antiquities, Cyprus: 24–42.
Kloukinas, D., E. Mantzourani, A. Marda Stypsianou and A. Georgotas. 2023. "Looking for the everyday in two Late Neolithic settlements in Cyprus". In I. Voskos, D. Kloukinas and E. Mantzourani (eds), Prehistoric Lifeways in Cyprus from the Early Holocene to the Middle Bronze Age, 61–76. Studies in Mediterranean Archaeology 155. Nicosia: Astrom Editions.
Mantzourani, E., M. Roumpou, N. Kalogeropoulos and I. Voskos. 2023. "Exploring pottery function in Neolithic-Chalcolithic Cyprus through organic residue analysis". In I. Voskos, D. Kloukinas and E. Mantzourani (eds), Prehistoric Lifeways in Cyprus from the Early Holocene to the Middle Bronze Age, 129–148. Studies in Mediterranean Archaeology 155. Nicosia: Astrom Editions.
Roumpou, M., Ι. Voskos, Ν. Kalogeropoulos and E. Mantzourani. 2021. "Unfolding beeswax use in Neolithic and Chalcolithic Cyprus through molecular analysis of lipids extracted from ceramic containers". Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences 13: 73.
Voskos, Ι. 2021 (in greek). The Archaeology of Storage: Economy and social change in Cyprus during the Late Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods. AURA Supplement 6. Athens: AURA and Institut du Livre - Kardamitsa Editions.
Voskos, I. and E. Vika. 2020. "Prehistoric human remains reviewed: palaeopathology and palaeodiet in Neolithic and Chalcolithic Cyprus, Limassol district". Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 29: 102128.
Voskos, I., E. Vika and E. Mantzourani. 2021. "Strontium isotopes and human mobility in Ceramic Neolithic-Middle Chalcolithic Cyprus (ca. 5200/5000-3000/2800 B.C.): a pilot study". Athens University Review of Archaeology 4: 207−224.
Voskos, I., D. Kloukinas, A. Georgotas, A. Marda-Stypsianou, M. Roumpou. E. Vika and E. Mantzourani. 2023. "Foodways in prehistoric Cyprus: a view from the Kouris valley during the 5th and 4th millennia cal. BC". Journal of Greek Archaeology 8: 21–68.

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