I will admit that it’s taking me a bit longer to get my feet under me this summer than I would have liked. Every year travel gets a bit harder and it takes me a bit longer to recover. To make matters just a bit more complicated, I also feel a bit more pressure each year to get down to work and not linger smelling the roses.
Out of the gate this summer, I put together a draft of a proposal for the volume that Scott Moore and I are working on. This is not a complete draft of what is likely to be a short proposal, but it is a start despite the jet lag and general fatigue.
For political reasons we have no idea what the title of the book will be other than it will be the first volume in the “Polis” series which documents the work of the Princeton Cyprus Expedition around the village of Polis in northwest Cyprus. We also are not sure who the editors will be, but I feel pretty confident that Nancy Serwint, the current acting Polis director, will be among them.
Here’s where we are:
1. Authors
2. Title:
3. Description of the Book
The first book in the [Polis] series will introduce the site and the history of Princeton Cyprus Expedition in the context of earlier work in the region. The volume will also outline the methods and terms central to understanding organization and publication of the Princeton project. The volume will then present the stratigraphy and architecture of the area known as E.F1 in the Princeton excavation grid and include a detailed discussion of the predominantly Late Roman ceramic assemblage found in this area. The volume will also include a comprehensive list of publications by the Princeton Cyprus Expedition.
4. Table of Contents/Outline
I. Introduction to the [Polis] Series.
II. Introduction to the Volume
III. The Princeton Cyprus Expedition 1983 – Present (Tina Njabjerg)
1. Finding Polis
2. Surveys (1983, 1985, 1989)
3. Preliminary Excavation (1984-1986)
4. Full-Scale Excavation 1988-2009
a. Limni
b. Peristeries: B.D7, B.C6, B.F8 – B.F9
c. Maratheri: A.H9
d. Petrerades/Petreres: E.G0, E.G1, E.F1 and E.F2
1. E.G0
2. E.G1
3. E.F2
4. E.F1
IV. Excavation and Methodology (Tina Najbjerg)
1. Benchmarks and XYZ Coordinates
2. Levels and Passes
3. Features
4. Finds and Pottery
5. Architectural Fragments
6. The Crew
7. Recording and Documentation
a. Stratigraphic Recording
b. Documentation of Finds
c. Pottery Reading and Documentation
8. Storage
V. Area E.F1 at the site of Polis-tis-Chrysochous on Cyprus (William Caraher)
1. Introduction
a. Current Situation of Site
b. Organization of this Chapter
2. The Architecture
a. Late Roman Phase 1
b. Late Roman Phase 2
c. Late Roman Phase 3
d. Final Phase
3. Site in Late Roman Urban Context
4. Stratigraphy and Chronology
A. Phase 1
1. Summary
2. Phase 1A: Stratigraphy, Features, and Finds
3. Phase 1B: Stratigraphy, Features, and Finds
4. Phase 1 Abandonment: Stratigraphy, Features, and Finds
B. Phase 2
1. Summary
2. Phase 2: Stratigraphy, Features, and Finds
C. Phase 3
1. Summary
2. Phase 3: Stratigraphy, Features, and Finds
3. Phase 2/3 Abandonment: Stratigraphy, Features, and Finds
D. Phase 4
1. Summary
2. Phase 4: Stratigraphy, Features, and Finds
E. Final Abandonment
1. Summary
2. Final Abandonment: Stratigraphy, Features, and Finds
VI. Artifact Catalogue: Ceramics, Lamps, and Coins (Scott Moore)
1. Ceramics
A. Fine Ware
1. Summary
2. Cypro-Classical through Early Roman
3. Roman-Late Roman
B. Kitchen Ware
1. Roman Cooking Ware
2. Late Roman Cooking Ware
C. Utility Wares
1. Transport Amphora
2. Late Roman Basins
3. Roman to Late Roman Pithoi
4. Medieval Coarse Wares
D. Roof Tiles
1. Roman
2. Late Roman
E. Water Pipe
F. Architectural Fragments
2. Roman to Late Roman Lamps
3. Stone Bowls
V. Glass (Peter Cosyns)
VI. Human Remains (Brenda Baker)
V. Conclusions
Appendix I: List of Prior Princeton Cyprus Expedition Publications
5. Audience/Market
The audience for this book is consistent with the audience for other publications in the ARS who have a broad interest in the archaeology of the Eastern Mediterranean generally. This volume will expand this traditional audience to include those interested in the history of Mediterranean archaeology particularly the wide-ranging influence of the Princeton students who gained experience excavating at Polis. The volume will also interest scholars of Late Roman Cyprus and the dynamic chronology of Late Roman ceramics in the Eastern Mediterranean more broadly.
6. Prompting Need
The Princeton Cyprus Expedition has cast an influential shadow over the archaeology of Cyprus and the broader Eastern Mediterranean. The nearly 4 decades of archaeological work at the site produced an abundance of architecture, finds, and human remains. As the long list of diverse publications reveals, this work has the potential to offer significant insights into history of the island and the larger region during the Ancient and Medieval periods. This volume serves to publish the area of E.F1 at the site. While this area is small and offers the basis for neither firm architectural or functional conclusions, but nevertheless provides a significant window into the history of the city in the 5th to 7th centuries. The ceramic evidence produced from the excavation at this site will add chronological nuance to previously published Late Roman material from Polis and another point of reference for the future study of Late Roman ceramics on the island.
7. Key Features/Benefits
The volume will feature a catalogue of key finds from EF1, a comprehensive bibliography of publications from the site, and thorough discussion of the sites around Polis village and the history of the excavations.
8. Location/Competition
Since this is the primary publication of archaeological data from Polis there will be little competition.
9. Prior Publication
The plan is to produce a comprehensive publication of over 75 publications produced by Princeton Cyprus Expedition in an appendix to the volume. The main motivation with this volume is to offer a definitive statement on the history and methods used at the site and to demonstrate how these inform the publication of one particular area of the larger Princeton excavations.
Archaeology of the Mediterranean World 