Second Week

 Week two started on the 10th of March 2025.

On Monday we started with a day trip to see the famous archaeological site at Kourion, it is known as the ancient city-kingdom of Kourion. The first inhabitants of the site were in the Late Neolithic period, continuing into the Chalcolithic period from 3500-4000 B.C and then the Mycenaean colonisation which began in the 14th century B.C. There are no architectural remains that you can see at the site anymore as the area was inhabited after this. You are able to walk around the site today and see the remains of architecture from as long ago as the Hellenistic period from 325-50 B.C. The city-kingdom was then inhabited by the Romans who carried out extensive building programmes during the 1st, 2nd and 3rd century A.D. This is the period from which you can see most of the remains today, including huge mosaics and pillars. You can then see the final stage of occupation through the introduction of the new religion, Christianity, this was towards the end of the 4th century through to the 5th century. 

After seeing the spectacular mosaics that were popular with the Romans we were given the task of learning this traditional skill which is a rich part of the culture in Cyprus still today. However, we were not doing religious iconography or raunchy pictures like the Romans enjoyed. We needed to complete mosaics of bees that could be used on the local 'honey trail', this is a group of 8 villages where making honey is an important part of local life. 

On Thursday we learnt more skills that can be useful to archaeologists but also just in life. We spent the day dry stone walling and making wattle fences by weaving wood through posts to make a sturdy structure. A practical skill that has been used for thousands of years. We finished this job on Friday and that ended the work for the week. 

Weekend

We went on a big group trip to Ayia Napa this weekend. No more needs to be said. Other than we all had a great time!

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