THE KOURIS VALLEY SURVEY PROJECT 2007: METHODOLOGIES AND PRELIMINARY RESULTS

Different institutions are involved in the KVSP, such as the Departments of Antiquities of the Universities of Florence and Chieti, the laboratory of CAAM (Centre of the Athenaeum for Archaeometry and Microanalysis) of Chieti University, in collaboration with the Department of Antiquities of Lefkosia and the Archaeological Museums of Limassol and Episkopi. From the geo-morphological point of view the Kouris valley represents one of the largest and deepest valleys of the southern areas of Cyprus, cutting profoundly the limestone ridge belonging to the Trodos mountainous system. In antiquity the Trodos area has been extremely important for the presence of rich bronze mines, which have been intensively exploited since the beginning of the Bronze Age and exported widely in the eastern Mediterranean basin. The Kouris valley, therefore, with its terraced slopes, offered in antiquity the possibility of an important natural road network, along several main and secondary tracks following the river and its secondary valleys, and connecting the Trodos mines with the southern ports of Cyprus. The aim of the project is the intensive survey of the valley, in order to reconstruct the mechanisms of settling and the use of the local road network in the ancient landscape assessment and its changes and evolution from the Bronze Age to the classical period. Already during the fi rst season, in 2007, the survey is giving interesting data, which are recorded in real time in a multilayer GIS, employing DGPS in recording the sites, a magnetometer and a geo-resistivimeter for non invasive geoprospecting and remote sensing on multispectral high defi nition satellite images.