FULL TEXT WITH IMAGES - Between Rejection and Coping - Do Turkish Cypriots Have the Right to Conduct Archaeological Research? (original) (raw)

Colonial and National Tensions in Cypriot Archaeology: An Attempt at a Cosmopolitan Resolution

Colonial and National Tensions in Cypriot Archaeology: An Attempt at a Cosmopolitan Resolution, 2023

Trauma and ambivalence are common aspects of the post-colonial condition and themes in Cypriot poetry. Yaşın's (1998) poem acknowledges the present de facto political partition of Cyprus since the Greek coup and Turkish invasion of 1974, with Michanikos' (1975) poem providing a complementary question as to the lack of necessity of this partition with references to the intercommunal violence of 1963-1964. These questions are linked to both a shared, albeit segregated, trauma from political tragedies and upheaval and a shared nostalgia either for a nationalist past or a bicommunal garden of Eden, the main cleavages of the island's separation. The question of history and nostalgia in Cyprus, as well as its own identities have been entangled in the context of British colonialism as well as Greek and Turkish nationalism. This article investigates the relationship between archaeology, nationalism, and colonialism in Cyprus, producing segregated archaeological narratives and hidden bicommunal and minority experiences. It outlines a history of Cyprus, its nationalisms, and their effects on intercommunal imaginaries (Ioannou 2020). It will then discuss how ideology has shaped archaeological research in Cyprus (Karageorgis 1969). Lastly, the paper looks at how archaeology has moved towards a more nuanced discussion of ethnicity, the possibility of a common history, and reconciliation through the use of spatial, non-ethnic frameworks.

The discovery of ancient Cyprus: archaeological sponsorship from the 19th century to the present day

In Theodoropoulou-Polychroniadis, Z. & Evely, D. AEGIS. Essays in Mediterannean archaeology presented to Matti Egon by the Scholars of the Greek Archaeological Committee UK. Oxford, 2015

A fundamental aspect of archaeological research, particularly nowadays, is its funding. Sponsorship, either private or public, has significantly determined the nature and extent of archaeological practice throughout the world, on several occasions since archaeology's establishment as an academic discipline. The present paper aims at elucidating/ outlining the essentially interactive relationship between archaeological sponsorship (when, who, how) and the development of Cypriot archaeology from an infant academic field back in the 1890s to a highly advanced section of Mediterranean archaeology attracting several researchers and archaeological missions from various European countries, Canada and the United States. This is closely associated with the following factors: -the development of archaeological theory and practice resulting in the shift of attention from Greek antiquity to the archaeologies of the surrounding land and the chronological periods preceding the Classical era -the complexity/ multiformity of past Cypriot societies, which allowed plenty of space for experimentation and the application of new theories and methods -the island's turbulent political history (part of the Ottoman Empire, British colony, Republic of Cyprus, Turkish invasion of 1974) and the consequent association of Cypriot archaeology with various ethnic claims -Cyprus' geographic location between the Aegean, Egypt and the Syro-Palestinian coast, which attracted archaeologists focusing the study of the surrounding regions Emphasis will be placed on both past achievements and future prospects.

From Excavation to Exhibition. Problems in Conservation of Archaeological Objects from Excavations in Cyprus.

New Approaches towards Recording, Preserving and Studying Cultural Heritage in Divided Cyprus: Problems & Opportunities 23-24 September 2019. ARUCAD, Kyrenia. Publisher: ARUCAD Press., 2023

In this article some remarks are made on the Swedish Cyprus Expedition 1927-1931 and the impact they still have on Cypriot archaeology. Four of the most important excavation sites are presented with a comment on the state of preservation of each site. Are there any traces today of the excavations and how is the condition of the remains? A discussion follows about some general problems with climatic conditions in store-rooms and exhibitions. Finally and very importantly, the reader will find a presentation of two earlier exhibitions with finds from the Cyprus Collections in Sweden and some proposals of “Making an exhibition attractive”.