Cypriot Archaelogy, Modern Numismatics and Social Engineering: The Iconography of the British Coinage of Cyprus

This article examines the use of numismatic iconography by the British colonial administration of Cyprus in order, initially, to legitimise its possession of the island and, subsequently, to promote an Eteocypriot, an "authentic Cypriot", identity as counter-poison against Greek nationalism. In this endeavour of social engineering, archaeological items and other symbols from Cyprus' past played a prominent part. The outbreak of the Cypriot guerrilla war for union with Greece in 1955 highlighted the bankruptcy of this operation. Nevertheless, British efforts to evade Cyprus' overwhelmingly Greek past - and present - continued unabated, even after the formal recognition of the island's independence

Review of: 'Crossroads and Boundaries: The Archaeology of Past and Present in the Malloura Valley, Cyprus', edited by M.K. Toumazou, P.N. Kardulias, and D.B. Counts (2011)

The Athienou Archaeological Project has been carrying out excavation, survey and a wide range of analytical and community engagement activities in the Malloura Valley in central Cyprus since 1990. This engaging and very readable book provides detailed summaries and preliminary analyses of all of this very varied work. Because each chapter gives a careful explanation of the period background, the Cypriot context and the history of research, the book as a whole serves as an up-to-date and wide-ranging introduction to the archaeology of Cyprus, which links the broader picture to a close engagement with a specific landscape

Cypriot Archaelogy, Modern Numismatics and Social Engineering: The Iconography of the British Coinage of Cyprus

This article examines the use of numismatic iconography by the British colonial administration of Cyprus in order, initially, to legitimise its possession of the island and, subsequently, to promote an Eteocypriot, an "authentic Cypriot", identity as counter-poison against Greek nationalism. In this endeavour of social engineering, archaeological items and other symbols from Cyprus' past played a prominent part. The outbreak of the Cypriot guerrilla war for union with Greece in 1955 highlighted the bankruptcy of this operation. Nevertheless, British efforts to evade Cyprus' overwhelmingly Greek past - and present - continued unabated, even after the formal recognition of the island's independence

Maintained in Very Good Condition or Virtually Rebuilt? Destruction of Cultural Property and Narration of Violent Histories

This paper explores the use of cultural heritage in shaping public understandings of history, identity and justice; it focuses on misinterpretations and misrepresentations of damage to and destruction of archaeological sites and historic buildings in Cyprus. It examines: restoration and its impact on public understandings of history; scholarly conduct in the collection and presentation of data; denial of violence as a tactic to establish peace and recognition of violence as a strategy for building trust; and denial of violence as a strategy for fostering nationalist sentiment and inciting ethnic hatred. First, it addresses the role of monuments and their destruction in memory and amnesia. Then, it identifies inappropriate restoration, which has misdirected professional and public understanding of history. It also demonstrates either wilful ignorance of events or conscious exclusion of inconvenient facts from archaeological and official texts; either way, this is unprofessional practice, which has led to the implicit denial of real violence that was intended to cause ethnic cleansing

Interrogating archaeological ethics in conflict zones: cultural heritage work in Cyprus

Much affected by viewing the Yugoslav Wars’ ruins, I resolved to study archaeology in conflict. I wanted to explore archaeology’s role in conflict and archaeologists’ responsibilities in conflict zones; but unable to conduct such work in Kosova/Kosovo, I went to Cyprus. Drawing together professional documentation and public education, professional and community interactions and interviews, and cultural heritage site visits, I researched the destruction of community places, the looting of cultural heritage, and the coping strategies of archaeologists. The key questions of this thesis are: is it legal and ethical to conduct archaeological work in occupied and secessionist territories? How is public knowledge of cultural heritage looting and destruction constructed? What are cultural heritage professionals’ responsibilities for knowledge production during conflict? How ought cultural heritage professionals to combat the looting and illicit trading of antiquities? I have addressed these questions by concentrating upon cultural heritage workers’ narratives of looting and destruction from 1955 until the present in professional discussion and mass education. First, I argue that archaeologists have misinterpreted international law, and through boycotting and blacklisting of rescue archaeology in northern Cyprus, harmed both the profession and the cultural heritage. Second, I argue that cultural heritage workers have been unwillingly coopted, or actively complicit in the conflict, in the production of nationalist histories, and thus nationalist communities, therefore in the reproduction of nationalist conflict. Third, I argue that cultural heritage workers have knowingly contributed to the conflict and its destruction, through their nationalist policies on the paramilitary-dominated illicit antiquities trade. My conclusions are: that an ethical antiquities policy would cut funding to and thereby reduce conflict-fuelling extremist activity; and that, where they have the freedom to practice it, professional and ethical archaeologies of destruction would promote intracommunal and intercommunal peace