X‐ray fluorescence spectroscopy of picrolite raw material on Cyprus

Picrolite artefacts comprise some of the most distinctive material remains in the prehistory of the island of Cyprus, in the Eastern Mediterranean. Picrolite exploitation dates from at least 12,000 years ago for the manufacture of personal ornaments and items with a symbolic function. It is commonly assumed that picrolite nodules were collected in secondary deposits on an ad hoc basis. This narrative, however, ignores the fact that picrolite carriers can only be found in very specific locations on the island, discrete from each other. Here we report initial outcomes of the application of handheld portable X-ray fluorescence (HHpXRF) and synchrotron-based X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (SR-μXRF) to the analysis of picrolite raw materials performed at the newly opened PUMA beamline of the SOLEIL Synchrotron Radiation Facility. Our work refines the basic characteristics of the elemental constituents of the picrolite raw material and highlights key micro-structural differences between two distinct source regions on the Troodos Massif in western Cyprus. Picrolite source characterisation is expected to contribute significant new knowledge to the study of rare raw material consumption, prehistoric social organisation, networking and possible long-distance exchange of this idiosyncratic raw material within and beyond the island’s geographic boundaries

Virtual Sea-Drifting Experiments between the Island of Cyprus and the Surrounding Mainland in the Early Prehistoric Eastern Mediterranean

Seaborne movement underpins frontier research in prehistoric archaeology, including water-crossings in the context of human dispersals, and island colonisation. Yet, it also controls the degree of interaction between locations, which in turn is essential for investigating the properties of maritime networks. The onset of the Holocene (circa 12,000 years ago) is a critical period for understanding the origins of early visitors/inhabitants to the island of Cyprus in the Eastern Mediterranean in connection with the spread of Neolithic cultures in the region. The research undertaken in this work exemplifies the synergies between archaeology, physical sciences and geomatics, towards providing novel insights on the feasibility of drift-induced seaborne movement and the corresponding trip duration between Cyprus and coastal regions on the surrounding mainland. The overarching objective is to support archaeological inquiry regarding the possible origins of these visitors/inhabitants—Anatolia and/or the Levant being two suggested origins

Investigation and determination of the geothermal parameters of the ground in Cyprus for the exploitation of geothermal energy and the impact of the results in the design of the geothermal systems

The Energy Service of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism has the overall responsibility for Energy matters in Cyprus and specifically for preparing and implementing programmes for energy conservation, the promotion of renewable energy sources (RES) and the development of technologies for the utilization of RES. The Government of Cyprus being aware of the benefits of geothermal energy and in order to increase the share of energy from renewable sources consumed in heating and cooling in 2020, promotes the geothermal energy systems through a Scheme that provides financial incentives for the utilization of RES for heating and cooling. However, the lack of valid data for the ground thermal properties in Cyprus was one of the main obstacles for the design of efficient geothermal systems, the implementation of the Schemes in the field of geothermal energy and the calculation of the share of energy from renewable sources for heating and cooling according to the methodology defined by the E.U in the directive 2009/28/EC. In an effort to identify suitable energy efficient systems for heating and cooling of buildings and the correct calculations of their contribution to the national targets, the Energy Service participated in a project founded by the Research Promotion Foundation of Cyprus to investigate and determine the geothermal parameters of the ground of Cyprus at six representative sites in Cyprus, for use in the design of ground heat exchanger applications and ground thermal storage. The paper presents the importance of the Isothermal map that helps consultants to design efficiently geothermal energy systems, calculate effectively heat losses of buildings to the ground and design the thermal energy storage equipment. The importance’s of the results are analyzed by national authorities’ experts’ point of view for evaluating geothermal applications bridging in this way the gap between technical output and commercial reality

Quaternary marine terraces on Cyprus : constraints on uplift and pedogenesis, and the geoarchaeology of Palaipafos

Numerous flights of Quaternary marine terraces are present around the island of Cyprus, in the Eastern Mediterranean. These terraces are a result of the global eustatic sea-level curve and local tectonism. Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5 through MIS 13 terraces are identified, mapped and dated. Palaeoshoreline elevation, an excellent indicator for a past sea–level, and new numerical geochronology are used to calculate an Upper Pleistocene uplift rate for various coastal sectors. Southwestern Cyprus presents the highest uplift rates of 0.35-0.65 mm/year with other sections suggesting uplift of 0.07-0.15 mm/year. This Upper Pleistocene tectonic signal is attributed to an active offshore subduction/collision system to the southwest of Cyprus, evidenced from the seismic activity offshore and the surface expression of a blind thrust fault in the Pafos region. Soil chronosequences and geology in southwestern Cyprus are studied in order to understand the Quaternary development on this uplifting landscape. Soil profile properties are used to calculate a profile development index (PDI), a method often applied to geomorphic surfaces as a relative dating method. Well-developed red and clayey soils occur in the coastal sector, on broad and low-angle surfaces, specifically on marine terraces and alluvial fans. Higher elevations of steep slopes consisting of carbonate and ophiolite lithologies host poorly developed soils. Results show variable PDI's on uplifted terraces, obscured by transported materials, active alluvial fan buildup and hillslope erosion. Calcium carbonate build-up in soil profiles in the form of nodular and laminar accumulations are used as another relative dating method. Geochronology of marine terraces is used as an age range approximation for carbonate stages. Geomorphologic mapping focuses on the southeastern part of the Pafos thrust fault, the only point on the landscape where this otherwise blind fault is exposed on the surface. This is the location of Palaipafos, an important Ancient polity, today the site of the village of Kouklia. Geoarchaeological study suggests little landscape change over the last 4000 years in the vicinity of the urban core of Palaipafos, this being attributed to bedrock and landscape resistance of its location, a plateau at 80 m amsl. Copper deposits in the Palaipafos hinterland had provided a valuable resource at one time. Soil and water resources continue to sustain agriculture.Tectonic uplift in this part of the Pafos thrust fault is estimated to be 2.1mm/year, considered, together with Late Holocene sea-level change responsible for the shifting locations and eventual abandonment of the Palaipafos harbor in the coastal lowlands

Modelling the Pleistocene colonisation of Eastern Mediterranean islandscapes

Predictive models have become an integral part of archaeological research, particularly in the discovery of new archaeological sites. In this paper, we apply predictive modeling to map high potential Pleistocene archaeological locales on the island of Cyprus in the Eastern Mediterranean. The model delineates landscape characteristics that denote areas with high potential to unearth Pleistocene archaeology while at the same time highlighting localities that should be excluded. The predictive model was employed in surface surveys to systematically access high probability locales on Cyprus. A number of newly identified localities suggests that the true density of mobile hunter-gatherer sites on Cyprus is seriously underestimated in current narratives. By adding new data to this modest corpus of early insular sites, we are able to contribute to debates regarding island colonisation and the role of coastal environments in human dispersals to new territories

The Lambousa (Cyprus) Fishtank in a Quasi-Stable Coastal Area of the Eastern Mediterranean, a Notable Marker for Testing GIA Models

The Lambousa fishtank, an archaeological structure entirely carved in bedrock, can be easily recognized and measured in the plan on Google Earth (GE). We surveyed in situ this excellent archaeological marker in 2016 through direct measurements using traditional field instruments, such as metric tapes and invar rods, and terrestrial photogrammetry using Structure from Motion (SfM) methods. The bedrock on which the fishtank is founded is an Upper Pleistocene calcarenite also containing Persistrombus latus. The age of the studied fishtank has not been previously published, but on the basis of the construction technique and the interpretation provided by Archaelogist and references therein, we believe that it was built in the period between 2.1 and 1.8 ka BP, like similar fishtanks in the Mediterranean area. Architectural structures consist of evident foot walks (Crepido), a stone base, and a tunnel that allows for seawater exchange during high tides. The tunnel is at the same altitude as the Crepido, which lies around the fishtank. These architectural components allow us to evaluate the palaeo-sea level with significant precision during the time when the fishtank was active. MIS 5.5 coastal deposits that outcrop in the study area are located at a maximum altitude of a few meters, while the inner margin of the MIS 5.5 terrace allows us to hypothesize “quasi-tectonic stability”. We have also obtained several predictions of the contribution from Glacial Isostatic Adjustment (GIA) to relative sea level at Lambousa for the past 3.5 kyr, according to models ICE-6G (VM5a), ICE-7G (VM7), and one of the GIA models by the Australian National University ANU) Research group

Modelling the Pleistocene colonisation of Eastern Mediterranean islandscapes

Predictive models have become an integral part of archaeological research, particularly in the discovery of new archaeological sites. In this paper, we apply predictive modeling to map high potential Pleistocene archaeological locales on the island of Cyprus in the Eastern Mediterranean. The model delineates landscape characteristics that denote areas with high potential to unearth Pleistocene archaeology while at the same time highlighting localities that should be excluded. The predictive model was employed in surface surveys to systematically access high probability locales on Cyprus. A number of newly identified localities suggests that the true density of mobile hunter-gatherer sites on Cyprus is seriously underestimated in current narratives. By adding new data to this modest corpus of early insular sites, we are able to contribute to debates regarding island colonisation and the role of coastal environments in human dispersals to new territories

Artificial Neural Networks for the Generation of Geothermal Maps of Ground Temperature at Various Depths by Considering Land Configuration

Presented at 6th Dubrovnik Conference on Sustainable Development of Energy Water and Environmental Systems, 25 - 29 September, Dubrovnik, CroatiaIn this paper a neural network is used for the generation of geothermal maps (contours) of temperature at three depths (20, 50 and 100 m) in Cyprus. Archived data of temperature recorded at 41 boreholes is used for training a suitable artificial neural network. The complete data was randomly divided into a training and validation dataset. The neural network is used to predict the temperature at any arbitrary location on the island, which can subsequently be used for drawing geothermal maps. For this purpose, a multiple hidden layer feedforward architecture was chosen after testing a number of architectures. The correlation coefficient obtained between the predicted and training dataset is 0.9889, which is very close to 1, indicating an accurate mapping of the data. The validation of the network was performed using the validation (unknown) dataset. The correlation coefficient for the unknown cases was 0.9253. The prediction error for the temperature was confined to less than 1.74 °C, which is considered quite adequate. In order to broaden the database, the patterns used for the validation of the technique were embedded into the training dataset and a new training of the network was performed. The architecture and the other parameters of the network were kept the same as for the validation phase. The correlation coefficient value for this case was equal to 0.9918. A 10 × 10 km grid is then drawn over a detailed topographic map of Cyprus and the various input parameters were recorded for each grid-point. This information was then supplied to the trained network and by doing so, temperature at the same depths as above was predicted at each grid-point. The x and y coordinates and the estimated temperatures at the three depths for both the original boreholes and at the grid-points were then used as input to a specialized contour drawing software in order to draw the geothermal maps. These maps will be a helpful tool for engineers wanting to apply geothermal heat in Cypru

A contribution to the study of copper production in the Iron Age polity of Paphos in Cyprus

This paper presents the results of the chemical, microscopic and isotopic analysis of an archaeometallurgical assemblage consisting of slag and metal samples from two Cypro-Classical monuments recently located within the urban landscape of the polity of Paphos, and from two slag heaps in the metalliferous region of the Paphos hinterland. The project identified technological changes and innovations, such as the introduction of new types of fluxes and the optimization of the smelting technology. Furthermore, the analysis of slag samples from one of the two monuments, identified as workshop complex on the plateau of the Paphian citadel, revealed the presence of an iron smithy. This pioneering interdisciplinary study paves the way for the development of a comparative archaeo-metallurgical project that will define the fingerprint of the Paphos copper deposits. The study was carried out in the context of the University of Cyprus-Leventis Foundation Project, “From the metalliferous sources to the citadel complex of ancient Paphos: Archaeo-environmental analysis of the mining and the built environment” (acronym MEANING 2017–2019)