Description
Book SynopsisThe Sydney Cyprus Survey Project (SCSP) devoted five seasons of fieldwork (1992-1997) to an intensive archaeological survey in the north-central foothills of the Troodos Mountains on the eastern Mediterranean island of Cyprus. The survey covered 65 square kilometres in and around the modern villages of Politiko and Mitsero. This pathbreaking project examined the relationship between the production and distribution of agricultural and metallurgical resources. Additionally, the project provides new insights into the interpretation and collection of regional archaeological data. The volume represents an integrated approach to the discussion of social landscapes--from archaeological, historical, geomorphological, geobotanical, and archaeometallurgical perspectives--within the SCSP survey universe. The twenty-two contributors to this volume provide a comprehensive data set including lithics, pottery, site types, and radiocarbon dates. Full colour GIS maps provide a wealth of information on pottery densities and site distributions. This well-illustrated monograph will serve as a model for future research throughout the region.
Trade ReviewMakes a valuable contribution to the methodology of archaeological survey demonstrates the value of intensive, multidisciplinary field survey to the examination of the archaeological record on a regional scale. Thorough and clearly described methodology, combined with novel social approaches to interpreting data, set a benchmark and provide a valuable reference for anyone interested in archaeological survey and landscape archaeology. On a more specific level, the findings of the SCSP contribute significantly to an understanding of ancient Cyprus, particularly regarding previously neglected agricultural and mining hinterland regions which supplied produce to the well-studied ancient cities of Cyprus.
David Collard, Ancient Near Eastern Studies 41 (2004)
The SCSP provides valuable insight into the organization of the primary production sites in the hinterland of the coastal centres associated with the productive stages of copper trade, and the effects of regional or imperial economic systems on such local polities...Especially noteworthy are the projects visionary contributions to regional survey practice in the Mediterranean region The numerous charts and selected photographs illustrate the material well, with the advantage of keeping the volume concise and affordable, while the large amount of collected material will undoubtedly fuel further specialist studies to be published separately in the years to come. This book could certainly serve as a model for other publications of intra-disciplinary survey projects not only on Cyprus, but in the eastern Mediterranean and Aegean as well.
Bettina Fischer-Genz, Deutsches Archaologisches Institut, Orient-Abteilung, Berlin, Germany, European Journal of Archaeology 7(2):206
