The Vigla Archaeological Field School – Page 2 – Reed College / MSU Denver / Trinity University Excavations at Pyla-Vigla, Cyprus

Nicosia Meze

For our first day trip here in Cyprus, back on July 4, we left our coastal city behind and traveled inland to the Cypriot capital, Nicosia, sitting on the border between the Greek and Turkish halves of the island. After several hours wandering the Nicosia museum, we were turned loose for lunch. It was hot and humid and we were hungry. Ella, a veteran of this program having attended last year, recommended that we find a place to try meze. She explained that a meze was a meal consisting of many different small dishes, usually shared in groups over the course of what could be several hours. We had several hours before the bus left to take us home, so Riley, Laila, Emi, Parker, and I agreed. We found a mostly empty restaurant named Kathodon only a few blocks away from the crossing checkpoint into North Cyprus. The walls of the restaurant were plastered with pictures of American celebrities from the 1950s and scenes of life in Nicosia, handmade dolls hung from the ceiling, and a chunk of concrete sat in a box with a label in Greek claiming it was a piece of the Berlin Wall. It was an eclectic atmosphere but homey and comfortable. Between the six of us we ordered two meat meze, two vegetarian meze, and two fish meze, with the intention of sharing the dishes with each other.

Larnaca Year Two

Ella Arnold

This year, I was given the opportunity to return to Larnaca and the PKAP project to not only excavate as I did last year, but to also work on a student research project through the Ruby-Lankford grant. With the help of the project directors, myself and three returning students from MSU have been working on researching and comparing some of the stamped amphora handles, bowls with graffiti, lead sling bullets, and a game board found at Vigla. This research has included photographing, measuring, and reading the artifacts, which will ultimately result in us compiling the information into a research poster on examples of epigraphy found at site. By engaging in the part of archaeological study that involves pulling artifacts for study from the archives at Terra Ombra, I feel as though I have gained a better understanding as to the relevance of the pottery sherds, metal pieces, and other items that we find at Vigla and how they tie in to our greater understanding of the material and epigraphic culture of the Hellenistic period.

Weighing, measuring, and reading sling bullets at Terra Ombra.

Pigeons Did Nothing Wrong

Emi Clarke

One of my favorite things to do when I encounter something new or unfamiliar (usually an animal I couldn’t immediately identify with absolute certainty) is to go on a wikipedia rabbit hole collecting any information related to the aforementioned New Thing. Often equally fun is the practice of going through the same process but on something so familiar and mundane that I’d never thought to look it up before. So upon arriving in Larnaca and discovering, to my delight, that the city was rife with a creature I’d long suspected had much more to offer than the moniker “rat with wings” would suggest, I thought it was a perfect opportunity to learn more about them. After a likely unnecessary and overly thorough scouring of any and all pigeon related pieces of information I could find I have come to the conclusion that they do indeed deserve more appreciation and respect. But before that, allow me to introduce you to the:

Rock Dove (Columba Livia)

Anti-pigeon propaganda at the St. Lazarus Church, a prime pigeon hangout

Day in the Life in Larnaca

Riley Stockton

On our days off from the dig, we have a few days off where we are free to roam about and explore the wonderful city of Larnaca. These days it is great to try many different cuisines found in the city and explore the various shops in their niches throughout the city.

On one of these days this week, I recorded what I did with a few other students participating in the dig to give a day in a life blog about a typical free day for me while here. If we do not have to get up before sunrise to go to the site, I usually sleep till about 8 am and prepare for the day. Then Mason, Kayra, Ella, and I headed to get brunch at Onar Larnaca. While there I got an eggs benedict that had prosciutto, blueberry jam, and goat cheese on top of brioche bread with an iced latte. The meal was great and definitely one of the most unique eggs benedict I have had, but I would recommend it. Plus the service was great and our waiter showed us his new Charmander tattoo.

We then all headed back to the hotel to lounge for a bit after getting so full from breakfast. Shortly after, we headed out once again to go souvenir shopping and came across the most amazing copper art store, Halkoessa Copper Art. This store was crowded floor to ceiling with amazing works from statuettes to door knockers to beautiful jewelry most made from copper, but a few other metals and materials mixed in there as well. One could spend a while in there looking at all the objects and it was great to buy some things for the ones back home, as well as pick up a few things for myself.

Life in Larnaca: Doors and Windows

Kayra Lyons

One of my favorite activities I like to engage in when exploring a new place, is a deep observation of the structures around me as I stroll. Because of the heat, I don’t find myself going on walks in Larnaca without a destination or a purpose. Usually we are on the way to a meal, or to the beach, or to the grocery store. But recently I have been trying to be more mindful of my architectural surroundings, and to appreciate the day to day differences of a Cypriot street and one I am used to back in the States. Something my friends and I have been observing, especially in the older parts of Larnaca in the surrounding area of the Church of St. Lazarus, are the old wooden doors. In varying conditions, there exist rows and rows of old doors. Some freshly painted over, some slowly disintegrating. The attention to detail in some of the wrought iron designs embellishing the doors was so interesting to see, and it gave the street surroundings all the more vibrance and life. The doors being so obviously old and worn, in combination with the attempts made to conserve them and give them new life marked to me their importance as a part of the city.

EU28 Trench Update, 7/18/24

Laila Maidenberg

It’s been a pretty exciting week here in EU 28. During our first week, Riley, Mason, and I worked on getting our unit down to the same level as one of its adjoining units, EU24. We worked tirelessly to get through layers of topsoil, the plow zone, and lots and lots of rocks. We made it (phew), and this week, got to expand EU 28 to be about a foot wider, reaching all the way to a stone wall in EU20.

Then, we opened up a new stratigraphic unit to encompass our expanded unit, SU 10007, and continued working down, in an even layer. The first two days of work this week were plagued by rocks, rocks, and more rocks. We had lots of big ones throughout the unit, with a big concentration on the south side, that almost fooled us into thinking we might have a new wall! But after very carefully articulating each one, most of them seemed to be floating, with dirt underneath. There are a few that we haven’t removed yet that seem to be maybe making up a crosswall, but we’re still a few inches away from deciding their fate. Notable finds from SU 10007 include 3 sheets of lead, bronze tacks and lots of olive pits!

Beads are Out, Plaster is In: EU25 Trench Update 17/7/24

Parker Miraldi

5:30 am. The sun is yet to rise, but between the temperature and the humidity it already feels like 95°F out. However, despite the air being almost thick enough to drink, we are all eager to get back to digging. Due to the shooting schedule of the British military base the Vigla site sits on our mornings are extremely limited, and we have been pushing hard to finish as much as possible before the end of the season. This time of day is one of my favourites – the sunrises from up here are stunning, and the excitement is infectious.

Sunrise over EU25 before another hard day of digging.

A word which here means:

A glossary of Vigla jargon

Laila Maidenberg

Like any field of study, here at the Pyla-Vigla archeological project, there’s lots of jargon to learn. Here’s a collection of some of the most common, and my favorites.

SU – an abbreviation for stratigraphic unit, which refers to a section of the area you’re excavating that has a consistent soil color, texture, and composition. This basically makes up a “layer” of the unit, and all of the things you find get bagged and labeled together

EU – stands for excavation unit, and refers to the subdivided square (or sometimes rectangle) of dirt that you’re working in. Each one has a “trench supervisor” who oversees it, and each EU works as a team. It’s a way that we can label finds, and remember which square of dirt different objects came from.

Trench – a slang term we use for EU

Trench supervisor – the person who’s in charge of running, taking notes, and filling out paperwork for each EU

Baulk – the wall of dirt that forms the edge of a trench

You Can’t Escape the Roman Empire

Riley Stockton

During our field trip to Paphos earlier this week, we visited the Nea Paphos Archaeological Site and it was an unforgettable place. The site was amazing to see and exhausting to walk through in the sweltering heat! This enormous site was the capital city of Cyprus for a period beginning in the 3rd century BCE, and continued to be when it became a Roman province in the 1st century BCE. Many of the buildings and art that we were able to see were Roman-period villas that contained some of the most beautiful mosaics I have seen.

We first went to the House of Aion, dated to the 3rd-5th c. CE. There was a massive mosaic depicting many different Greek gods and myths. Tom explained that although during this time Christianity was spreading throughout the Roman Empire after Constantine’s rule, the elite continued to showcase Greek mythology in their mosaics as a way of flaunting their high status (as if their huge villas were not enough to hammer this point in).

Reed students looking at the mosaic in the House of Aion, second quarter of the 4th c. CE

EU 30 Trench Update–12/7/2024

Ella Arnold

First pictures of EU30 before breaking ground on the topsoil.

This week, my co-supervisor Paris Cook and I began excavation on the trench EU 30 under the supervision of Dr. Brandon Olson. The level of responsibility of supervising an entire five meter by five meter trench is new–and honestly, quite daunting–for me; not only are we doing the physical work of excavation, but we are handling all of the notes, paperwork, elevation measurements, Munsell testing, and decision making in the trench. Though it is scary to take on a new level of authority within the project, getting the opportunity to learn the new skills involved with supervising an excavation unit has been beyond valuable and exciting.