The Archaeological Work of the University of Cyprus, 2017: Mosaics, Medieval Churches, Ottoman Astrology and the Eastern Necropolis of Nea Paphos

Given in Greek, this fourth and final session of the annual study day on the archaeological work of the University of Cyprus in 2017, dedicated to the memory of Ino Nicolaou, brings together five papers on mosaics, medieval churches, Ottoman-period astrology and the cemeteries of Nea Paphos.

Demetrios Michaelides presents his plans for a Corpus of the Mosaics of Cyprus, begun after his 1970 work with Michalis Loulloupis at the House of the Gladiators at Kourion. Reviewing earlier surveys by Stylianos Pelekanidis, Fryni Hadjichristofi and Eleftherios Charalambous, he outlines a corpus covering Hellenistic, Roman, Early Christian and medieval floor and wall mosaics, including opus sectile and opus spicatum. He traces fragments in the Hermitage and the Harvey Mudd collection, newly located photographs in Berlin of the lost Orpheus mosaic found by Max Ohnefalsch-Richter at Salamis in 1882, and Peter Megaw's archival photographs and sketches of the apse mosaics of Panagia Angeloktisti at Kiti and the destroyed Panagia tis Kyras at Livadia. In the discussion Maria Iacovou asks about an emblema inscribed "Chaire" in a Reinach villa at Beaulieu-sur-Mer, whose Cypriot attribution Michaelides doubts.

Maria Parani reports on a Leventis-funded project (2014 to 2016) studying the domed church of the Transfiguration of the Saviour at Sotira in the Famagusta district, whose late 13th-century wall paintings were uncovered in 1989 by Athanasios Papageorghiou. She examines the non-canonical layout of the scenes: an Annunciation with a fountain of two entwined snakes paralleled at Moutoullas, a Crucifixion on the lower south wall, an early Cypriot Last Judgement showing individual torments in hell, Cypriot bishops and military saints, and a small beardless figure in Crusader dress praying in the Orthodox manner before St George.

Michalis Olympios introduces the "Historic Bedestan" project on the Greek cathedral of Panagia Hodegetria in Nicosia, beside the Latin cathedral of St Sophia. Because the monument lies in the occupied north, the team combines visual study of the masonry and sculpture with archival research in Venice, Rome, Istanbul and Cyprus. Olympios discusses the relation between the Early Christian basilica and the 14th- to 16th-century building, the Gothic north facade and its coats of arms, and 1930s and 1940s Department of Antiquities records of wall foundations between the twin south aisles and fragments of gilded statues and reliefs.

Euphrosyne Rizopoulou-Egoumenidou examines the last three pages of the property ledger of the Dragoman Hadjigeorgakis, recording the births and zodiac signs of his six children between 1789 and 1799. Comparing the entries with the manuscript of Aloisios Petrakis Karidis, she sets the predicted temperaments against the children's lives through the family's flight to Constantinople, the Dragoman's execution in 1809, the reprisals of 1821 and their return to Cyprus.

Vasiliki Lysandrou presents the postdoctoral project SPACES, coordinated by George Papasavvas, which digitises and georeferences roughly 500 shaft and rock-cut chamber tombs from the eastern necropolis of Nea Paphos excavated by Michaelides between 1983 and 1990, combining the plans with a 1968 aerial photograph found in Scotland.