Sotira, P. Dikaios, 1951Porphyrios Dikaios

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accepted with gratitude [handwritten: (1)] the proposal and the investigations were entrusted to me.

The excavations began early in June and lasted for seven working days. Five trial trenches were dug in various parts of the site with the following results.

Trench I. This was dug on the south lower slopes of the site in plot 112. A number of floors paved with pebbles were brought to light with in two of them two burials. No house foundations survived. In the southern part of the trench a straight wall built of limestone boulders was laid bare. Judging from the remains discovered in Trench III we may consider this wall as part of a narrow street. The most important however discovery in the trench concerns the two burials which are the first ones associated with the combed ware ever discovered.

Trench II. Dug in plot 115. The remains uncovered here are confused layers from demolished habitations of pise. The lowest layer appeared to be less disturbed and in fact in it an almost complete vase of combed ware was found.

Trench III. This was dug in plot 115 and revealed a thick wall 1,30m. in thickness and 0,80-1m. in height. This wall abuts by its North end on a natural slope in the bed rock and is directed N.W. - S.E. It recalls the Khirokitia wall which runs through the whole of the settlement and is apparently the main street. That the Sotira wall was used for the same purpose is confirmed by the discovery of narrower walls branching off from the main one.

Trench IV. This was dug in plot 115 between the first and second contours from the top of the hill, in a field exposed to the south and forming one of the most prominent parts of the settlement. Here the slope is gentle and thus no terraces were built by modern cultivators, a fact which prevented destruction of the remains. Indeed below the cultivated layer (about 1 foot) we uncovered foundations of stone tholoi with well preserved floors on some of which almost complete vases (Red lustrous and Combed) were found in situ. Two complete tholoi (measuring 5 m. across including the wall on both sides) and parts of others were laid bare.

The clearing and systematic investigation of the tholoi was suspended, but it is hoped that they may contain several superimposed and undisturbed floors. It is also hoped that there may be earlier tholoi underlying the topmost ones as a trial pit dug on the plateau revealed several distinct layers. (see below).

Trench V. This goes through almost the entire plateau and revealed below the cultivated soil walls of tholoi, floors, hearths, fragmentary vases in situ etc.. All these remains belong to the topmost level but a trial pit dug in a corner of the trench brought to light four distinct layers with house foundations, floors of white pise and burnt layers all containing lustrous and combed pottery.

But the most outstanding feature brought to light by this short season concerns an impressive wall built against the whole of the northern slopes of the hill and reaching the plateau. In parts it even rises higher than the plateau. This wall is built with limestone boulders bound up with yellowish pise and constitutes an impressive unbroken mass. How deep it goes it is not /possible

(2) The site was first noticed by me in 1934: see my Excavations at Erimi, p.63 ff. I must thank here Dr. E.H.Hill, Director of the Expedition, for his sympathetic interest and Mr. George Macfadden, Mr. and Mrs. John Young members of the Curium Expedition, for kind hospitality. My thanks are also due to Mr. A.J. Megaw, Director of Antiquities for making the combined excavation possible and for giving his valuable support.