Ancient CyprusAncient Cyprus

Excavator · Scholar

J. Richard Green

fl. 1967–2015 · Australia

University of Sydney classical archaeologist who began the excavation of the Hellenistic-Roman theatre at Nea Paphos in 1995 and co-directed it into the 2010s.

Biography

J. Richard Green began the University of Sydney's excavation of the theatre at Nea Paphos in the summer of 1995, under the Department of Antiquities, when the university resumed fieldwork in Cyprus after earlier work on the Bronze Age4. A professor at Sydney, he had Craig Barker on his first season as an undergraduate4. Steel's survey in Archaeological Reports calls him "Professor Dick Green"14.

Green reported the first two seasons in Mediterranean Archaeology1. With H. K. Cook he published the medieval glazed wares from the theatre site, which sat over a medieval farmstead and a kiln producing sgraffito2,4. In 1996 he wrote on the first Paphos Theatre installation, "Images, Vestiges, Shadows", part of his collaborations between artists and archaeologists, among them the artist Diana Wood Conroy4.

By 2010 he was Emeritus Professor, and the 2010 and 2011 seasons were directed by Barker, Smadar Gabrieli and Green5,6. In an essay with Barker he describes a theatre with at least five major phases, about 98 m across, with more than 8000 seats4. With Barker and J. Stennett he published the Hellenistic phases of the theatre in 20153. The pottery and other finds from the Sydney excavations remain in the Archaeological Museum of Paphos; the Nicholson Museum holds only comparative material4.

Life and work

  1. 1995
    Under the auspices of the Department of Antiquities, began the University of Sydney's excavations at the Hellenistic-Roman theatre of Nea Paphos (Fabrika hill), resuming Sydney's fieldwork in Cyprus after earlier Bronze Age work; Craig Barker, then an undergraduate, worked on this first season.

    Nea PaphosBarker 2012, p. 55 and Barker preface

  2. 1996–1997
    Published 'Excavations at the Theatre, Nea Paphos, 1995-6', Mediterranean Archaeology 9/10, 239-42.

    Nea PaphosSettlement to Sanctuary at…

  3. 1996
    Wrote, on the first Paphos Theatre installation 'Images, Vestiges, Shadows' (MacLaurin Hall, University of Sydney), that including artists was an experiment widening the parameters of research; his directorship fostered the long series of artist-archaeologist exhibitions with Diana Wood Conroy.

    SydneyBarker 2012, p. 64

  4. 2002
    With H. K. Cook, 'Medieval Glazed Wares from the Theatre Site at Nea Pafos, Cyprus: A Preliminary Report', RDAC 2002, 413-426 (medieval kiln producing glazed sgraffito wares on the theatre site).

    NicosiaBarker 2012Continuity and Destruction in…, p. 55

  5. 2010
    13th season at the Nea Paphos theatre: team of over 60 under Dr Craig Barker, Dr Smadar Gabrieli and Emeritus Professor Richard Green, under the Department of Antiquities.

    Nea PaphosBarker 2010, p. 1

  6. 2011
    14th season (1-28 October) directed by Barker, Gabrieli and Emeritus Professor Richard Green.

    Nea PaphosBarker 2011, p. 1

  7. 2015
    With C. Barker and J. Stennett, 'The Hellenistic Phases of the Theatre at Nea Paphos in Cyprus', in Frederiksen, Gebhard, Sokolicek (eds), The Architecture of the Ancient Greek Theatre (Monographs of the Danish Institute at Athens 17, Aarhus), 319-334.

    AarhusHellenistic Pottery and the…, p. 12

Connections

4 people
Craig BarkerGeoff H. StennettMichael KatzevRuth Smadar GabrieliJ. Richard Green
FieldworkScholarshipColleagues

Fieldwork & employment

Scholarship

Colleagues & contacts

Objects

  • Ceramic and other finds from the University of Sydney theatre excavations at Nea Paphos

    From Nea Paphos theatreArchaeological Museum of Paphos (Paphos District Museum)1995–2012Barker 2012, p. 56

Sources

  1. 1.J. R. Green (1996). “Excavations at the Theatre, Nea Paphos, 1995-6”. Mediterranean Archaeology 9/10, 239-242.
  2. 2.H. K. Cook, J. R. Green (2002). “Medieval Glazed Wares from the Theatre Site at Nea Pafos, Cyprus: A Preliminary Report”. Report of the Department of Antiquities, Cyprus, 413-426.
  3. 3.R. Green, C. Barker, J. Stennett (2015). “The Hellenistic Phases of the Theatre at Nea Paphos in Cyprus”. The Architecture of the Ancient Greek Theatre, 319-334. Aarhus.
  4. 4.Craig Barker (2012). Aphrodite's Island: The Cypriot Collection of the Nicholson Museum. Sydney, Nicholson Museum, University of Sydney.
  5. 5.C. Barker (2011). Nea Paphos Theatre Excavations 2011.
  6. 6.Craig Barker (2010). “Nea Paphos Theatre Excavations 2010”. AAIA Bulletin 8.
  7. 7.“Stone writing in ancient Paphos theatre”.
  8. 8.Settlement to Sanctuary at Phlamoudhi (bibliography). p. 48.
  9. 9.Continuity and Destruction in the Greek East (bibliography). p. 55.
  10. 10.Hellenistic Pottery and the daily life of ... (bibliography). p. 12.
  11. 11.Matthew Harpster (2018). “Kyrenia Shipwreck Excavation”. Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology. Springer. Online
  12. 12.T. Kiely (2017). “Britain and the archaeology of Cyprus II: 1914 to the present day”. Cahiers du Centre d'Études Chypriotes 47, 253-310. Online
  13. 13.Lawrence E. Stager (ed.), Anne M. Walker (ed.) (1989). American Expedition to Idalion, Cyprus, 1973-1980. Chicago, Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago.
  14. 14.Louise Steel (1997-1998). “Archaeology in Cyprus 1987-1997”. Archaeological Reports 44, 137-149.