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'''Alassa''' ({{lang-gr|Άλασσα}}) is a village in the [[Limassol District]] of [[Cyprus]], north of the [[Kouris Dam]], on the main road from [[Limassol]] to [[Kakopetria]].


Excavations at Alassa by Cypriot archaeologists in the early 1980s unearthed the ruins of a [[Bronze Age]] city. Among other findings were the remains of a palace, suggesting that the site once had a much greater importance as a local trading center.<ref>S. Hadjisavvas: ''Alassa. A New Late Cypriot Site.'' In: ''Report of the Department of Antiquities'' Cyprus 1986. pp. 62–76</ref> Whether Alassa was the capital of the ancient kingdom known as [[Alashiya]] remains a question of debate. The archaeologist [[Claude Schaeffer]] has made certain claims in this regard.<ref>C. F. A. Schaeffer: ''Enkomi-Alasia. Nouvelles missions en Chypre, 1946–1950''. Paris 1952.</ref>{{Verify source|date=June 2016}}
'''Alassa''' ({{lang-gr|Άλασσα}}) is a village in the [[Limassol District]] of [[Cyprus]], located north of the [[Kouris Dam]], on the main road from [[Limassol]] to [[Kakopetria]].


Roman villas have also been found there, a mosaic floor depicting [[Aphrodite]] and [[Eros]] from one of which is in the Limassol museum.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.hellenicaworld.com/Cyprus/Geo/Limassol/en/Limassol0173.html|title = Limassol, Cyprus}}</ref>
The excavations of Cypriot archaeologists in the early 1980s unearthed the ruins of the Bronze Age city of Alassa. Among other things, the remains of a palace were discovered, and indication of a greater importance than today as a local trading center.<ref>S. Hadjisavvas: ''Alassa. A New Late Cypriote Site. In: Report of the Department of Antiquities'' Cyprus 1986. S. 62–76</ref> It is debatable whether Alassa was the capital of a kingdom of ancient Cyprus, [[Alashiya|Alašija]]. The archaeologist [[Claude Schaeffer]] has made claims about this.<ref>C. F. A. Schaeffer: ''Enkomi-Alasia. Nouvelles missionsen Chypre, 1946–1950''. Paris 1952.</ref>


Alassa has been developed in modern times as a park-like tourist centre.
ALASSA A LATE BRONZE AGE TOWN ON THE MOUNTAINS
OF ALASHIYA

Sophocles Hadjisavvas (Excavator of Alassa)

INTRODUCTION

The Late Bronze Age is perhaps the most interesting period in the history of Cyprus. It was during this period that the Mycenaean Greeks came to Cyprus firstly as merchants during their journeys to the Near East and later as settlers thus contributing to the ethno genesis of the Greek speaking Cypriots of present day.

The Late Bronze Age period (1650 1050 B.C.), known also as the Late Cypriot, was a time of considerable prosperity. Peaceful conditions were established in the region and Cyprus, possibly referred to as Asy in the records of Tuthmosis III, benefited from the pax eagyptiaca. The island enjoyed close trading relations with the Near East, Egypt and the Greek world. (Hadjisavvas 2003, 99-100) The coastal towns gained importance as harbours. Industrial centres developed in the mining areas, and the agricultural hinterland grew. Olive oil plays a significant role in the economy of Cyprus and this is manifested in the forms of high productivity olive presses and impressive storage facilities. New harbour towns in the north-western part of the island flourished as did other major coastal centres like Enkomi, Hala Sultan Tekke and Maroni. A clay model of a ship found at Kazaphani gives an idea of the vessels used during the Late Bronze Age in Cyprus.

The wealth the Cypriots acquired as a result of copper and other exports may be seen in their material culture and particularly in the quantity and quality of objects, which accompanied the dead as tomb gifts. After 1400 B.C. there was an influx of Mycenaean pottery along with luxury goods.
Commercial relations between Cyprus and the Near East were closer than with the Aegean. It was Crete, however, which gave Cyprus a linear script, akin to the "Linear A" script of Minoan Crete. The Cypriot counterpart is known as "Cypro Minoan". It is hoped that one day the decipherment of this script will provide historians with many answers.

This period is the time of correspondence between the King of Alashiya and the powerful Pharaoh Akhenaton. In several "letters" the king promises the Pharaoh copper, and asks for luxury goods in return. (Holmes 1971). There are more references to Alashiya than to Asy in Near Eastern documents. From them we learn that Alashiya supplied copper to Syria and Anatolia and that this place had ships. It is widely accepted that Alashiya is the Bronze Age name of Cyprus, or is to be identified with one of her major cities. (Muhly 1972, Knapp 1996).

Towards the end of the Bronze Age, Cyprus was affected by the raids of the "Sea Peoples" (as they are called in Egyptian accounts). Some of these "Sea Peoples" have been identified with the Achaeans of Homer. The “Sea Peoples” soon colonized the island following the destruction of the coastal towns, a time, which also witnessed the destruction and abandonment of the principal Mycenaean cities in Greece. Nevertheless, life continued in all the major 12th century B.C. towns. The influence of Mycenaean Greece and Crete on Cypriot pottery, bronze work and seal stones may have been due to the settlement in Cyprus of Achaeans. Relations with the Near East, however, remained unchanged.

Monumental buildings appeared in Cyprus for the first time in the 13th and 12th centuries B.C. Large buildings, constructed of well dressed stones called "ashlars", have been found at Enkomi, Kition, Maroni, Kalavasos, Hala Sultan Tekke, Palaepaphos and Alassa. (Hadjisavvas 2000). Sanctuaries with ashlar masonry were built at Myrtou and in other parts of the island.

In an ashlar building at Enkomi, identified as a sanctuary, a unique bronze statuette was found representing a god with a horned helmet. Another bronze statuette, in this case a fully armed male figurine, is standing on an ingot and has been identified as the "Ingot God". Votive ingots have been found at Enkomi as well as at Alassa. Such evidence further illuminates the association of metallurgy with religion. Some architectural features and details observed earlier at Enkomi and later at Kition and Palaepaphos hint at strong influence from the Aegean. These features include free standing hearths and the use of bathtubs. Alassa provides evidence for architectural associations also in a complex drainage system.

Nearly all the major centres of the Late Bronze Age, including Enkomi, Kition, Hala Sultan Tekke, Palaepaphos, Maroni, Kalavasos and Alassa, provide evidence of copper smelting. It has been established that the ingots found in Crete before the 13th century B.C. were not made of Cypriot copper. On the other hand, ingots found in the Cape Gelidonia and Ulu Burun shipwrecks, and dated to the 13th century B.C., are Cypriot. (Gale 1991)

Recent excavations at Politiko-Phorades have provided an insight into the production techniques and proved the suggestion that primary smelting took place close to the source of metal. (Knapp et. Al. 2002)

The Late Bronze Age towns on Cyprus were destroyed in the middle of the 11th century B.C. by a natural phenomenon, most probably an earthquake. The period between 1050 and 850 B.C. is usually described as a "Dark Age" in Cypriot history. For some time after the destruction the town of Enkomi continued functioning but by 1050 B.C. was completely abandoned and a new town called Salamis was established as a harbour centre marking the beginning of the Iron Age.

THE SITE OF ALASSA
Alassa is a small village situated some 15 km NW of Limassol. In February 1983 we undertook the archaeological survey of the area of Alassa in order to safe any sites threatened by the construction of a dam on the Kouris River. (Hadjisavvas 1986)

The only archaeological site known in the area prior to our 1983 survey was that at the locality of Paliotaverna situated in the northern outskirts of the village. A large number of huge blocks of finely worked stone, some measuring two meters in length, were brought to the surface by bulldozers engaged in deep ploughing in 1963. Along with the stones, which are decorated with drafted margins, many sherds of large storage pithoi with characteristic relief wavy bands came to light. Both the ashlars and the pottery are attributed to the Late Bronze Age. Our target was to establish the extend of the LBA site of Paliotaverna. The site occupies part of two other localities, those of Pano Mandilaris and Kampos.

The settlement occupies an extensive area in the center of the triangular plateau, which slopes gently from the foothills of the Troodos down to the point where originally the river Kouris met the Limnatis River. (Fig. 1) The site has a commanding view of the whole valley. Arable land and an abundance of water were readily available and no doubt contributed to the selection of this region for habitation. The deep ravines of the rivers and the foothills of the Troodos massif provided natural protection.
PANO MANDILARIS, THE LOWER SITE
The first series of excavations were undertaken in the southern sector of the settlement, which was threatened by the construction of the dam. One plot at the locality of Pano Mandilaris, which promised well-preserved architecture, was selected for excavation. The investigations were conducted between 1984 and 1987. As a result of these excavations an area of 1000 sq. meters was uncovered revealing part of the settlement including eight tombs. A number of habitation units were built around a street, which opens into a square. The open spaces were used as burial grounds and seven out of eight excavated tombs were found under the hard surface of the square and the street. (Fig. 2)

The houses are provided with several rooms usually built around an inner court; the rooms are more or less rectangular having an interior space from 9 to 15m². The walls are well constructed with chosen stones; especially noteworthy are the ones placed in doorways. The thickness of the walls ranges from 50 to 60 cm and they are orientated south/north and east/west with slight variations. The walls were built directly on the rock surface usually on a shelf at a higher level than the floors, a well-known practice observed in many other sites of the same period. Entrances were always placed at one end of the partition walls. It was common practice to level the natural rock in order to construct floors. In cases where some natural depressions occurred they were filled in with reddish hard soil. In one case sherds from large storage pithoi were used as flooring while in another slabs were used. Both methods of paving are known from Episkopi-Bamboula the nearest LC site to Alassa and a sherd pavement is also known at Maa-Palaeokastro. Some of the houses have indications of enlargement and much material such as pithos sherds and querns has been reused for the construction of walls.

A large number of pits were found mainly in the courtyards. Some of them were used as receptacles for storage pithoi, others are basins constructed for various uses. One bottle-shaped pit was probably used for the storage of grain or other commodities.

In this comparatively small area excavated thus far, three cult places have been identified on the basis of generally accepted criteria. (Hadjisavvas 1989). The prevailing ritual artifact was the symbolic image of the bull modeled in terracotta, inscribed on seals or impressed on pottery. Bull figurines represent the largest percentage of inventoried material from the habitation units. (Fig.3). Another symbolic artifact offered along with bull figurines was the ox hide ingot in miniature form. The combination of the two ritual artifacts perfectly illustrates the dual character of the economy of the site, i.e. agricultural and metallurgy.

The large number of querns, rubbers and pounders attest to the agricultural occupation of the inhabitants, while the pot bellows and the slag recovered within the habitation units provide evidence for their engagement in metallurgical activities. (Fig.4)

The small number of stratified slag fragments found at the settlement is no doubt the result of primary smelting and indicate a close relationship with primary smelting sites. It is probable that individuals from Alassa who worked part time as miners-smelters in the nearby copper occurrence may have produced bun ingots of the type discovered at Delikipos. These were then turned over to the administration for remelting into the well-known ox hide ingots.

The evidence from the burial grounds is also in accord with the general picture of LBA Cyprus. Seven out of eight excavated tombs have common architectural features such as an irregular pit-shaped dromos, a more or less circular stomion, a bilobal chamber and usually an oblong rectangular basin sunk into the middle of the chamber thus forming two or three benches on which the corpses were laid. One of the chambers was provided with a rectangular pilaster carved at the far side of the chamber opposite the entrance. Although this feature appears at Enkomi and Bamboula, the Alassa example is so fine that it is quite evident that it was intentionally carved and not simply left to chance to form the bilobal shape of the chamber. The remaining tomb, which is the earliest in date, consists of a similar pit-shaped dooms and a plain beehive chamber. At least, three tombs were re-used while most of them have been looted in the past.

The chronology of the burials shows a long sequence starting in LCIB and ending in LCIIIA period. (Hadjisavvas 1991). The finds however from the habitation zone are confined to the LCIIC and LCIIIA periods. Although there is evidence of repair and expansion of the buildings, all floors belong to the final phase of occupation. The only evidence for earlier habitation, apart from the tombs, derives from closed deposits sealed under the floors and a rectangular space enclosed by walls, which originally belonged to a sanctuary.

Only three of the tombs were found intact and any comparisons as far as their furniture is concerned should be limited to those. The richest of all was Tomb 3 with 93 burial gifts including five of gold, three of bronze and a galena cylinder seal. Tomb 1 contained 28 items, while the most elaborate in construction, Tomb 2, produced 18 items including one of gold. Mycenaean pottery was found only in Tombs 3 and 6 while Tombs 4 and 5 produced typical Cypriot wares.
The earliest evidence from the habitation area comes from an irregular opening in the rock. This deposit, which was interpreted as a rubbish pit, was sealed under the surface of a small square surrounded by several buildings and a street to the south. Many Base ring and White Slip sherds have been uncovered in this pit along with animal bones. This suggests that the pottery derives from the nearby rooms, although we cannot exclude the possibility that some pottery may also have come from nearby tombs, which were cleared to create room for new interments.

All remaining material found on the floors dates to the LCIIIA period. In Room B, which forms an inner space of a house and has suffered less from the cultivation of the site, we found a number of ceramic items, which are important for the correlation between the floors and the tomb groups. The finds include a strainer jug, White Painted Wheel made III bowls, a Coarse ware jug, Plain White Wheel made vessels, and pithoi. Another strainer jug was found in Room Δ along with an imitation in Plain White ware of a Base Ring bowl; a Plain White jug; and an incense burner in White Painted Wheel made III ware. Two more strainer jugs were found with Plain White pottery in Square 7Γ around a curious semi-apsidal structure. On a sherd floor, adjacent to this structure rested a bull figurine and a Plain White juggled. The figurine illustrates the continuity of the use of this structure and suggests its use as a cult place.

The strainer jugs represent one of the most interesting groups of pottery found in the settlement and no doubt date to its final phase of occupation. Trude Dothan discussed the possible relationship between Cypriot strainer jugs and those found in Philistia, in Israel, in detail and I hope that the new material from Alassa will help in the search for the origins of this vessel. A so far unique strainer jug was found in Tomb 3. (Fig.5)

The first picture acquired after the excavation of 1000 m² was that of a usual LCIIC-LCIIIA settlement, which was abandoned in a period of emergency without any trace of violent destruction. Some weapons hidden in a hurry were destined to be rediscovered at the close of the 20th century. Three bronze spearheads were found in a hole at the vertical section of the bedrock some 30 cm above the floor.
PALIOTAVERNA, THE UPPER SITE
The objective of the new series of excavations initiated in 1991 is the investigation of the ashlar building at the locality of Paliotaverna, which lead to the discovery of the site. It is situated 250 m. away from Pano Mandilaris, at a higher level, and its excavation radically changed the first impression. The picture we now have is that of an urban settlement with at least one wide street surrounded by impressive ashlar buildings. (Hadjisavvas 1994)

The 4.30 m. wide street, which has a southeast-northwest alignment, was uncovered to a length of 43 m. Its hard pavement is made of trodden chalk mixed with clay known in Cypriot archaeology as “havara”.

The lower building, designated as Building I, was badly affected by deep ploughing, the construction of a track and a sheepfold. Of the wall facing the street only the foundation was spared at floor level. To the south of this foundation two square blocks were sunken in the floor. They have a side of 1.10 m. and are set in line, which forms a right angle with the wall. Another fragmentary block was found to the west in a pit preserving fragments of wall brackets and stemmed vessels with Base-Ring sherds. It is highly possible that these blocks formed the bases of pillars in an important hypostyle hall communicating with the street through at least three entrances.

The upper ashlar building, designated as Building II, is better preserved, although badly affected by deep ploughing. Its construction techniques are similar to those employed for the ashlar buildings of Enkomi and Kition.

The evidence produced after 10 years of excavations suggest a Π-shaped square building with inner courtyard and a portico in the inner side. Its southern 37.70 m wall runs parallel to the street. (Fig.6) Huge ashlars provided with towing bosses and decorated with drafted margins form the plinth of the south facade. One of these stones measures 5X0.75 m and weighs nearly 3 tons. Of the large orthostats once standing on this plinth only traces are preserved after the deep ploughing of the site in the 1970’s for replanting.

The foundation of the south wall ends westwards with a huge cornerstone measuring 2.50X1.60 m. Its surface was carved on purpose to receive the first course of orthostats of both the south and the west outer walls.

A great part of the west wall had been removed by stone robbers and only the foundation trench is preserved on the line of the stepped cornerstone. The north part, however, preserves its plinth and some orthostats including an impressive cornerstone decorated with drafted margins and two bosses, one on each of the outer sides. The plinth is built of well-dressed ashlars also decorated with drafted margins, where visible, and bosses. It is 37.70 m long and 1.35 m thick. (Fig.7)

The north outer wall of Building II is better preserved and in places, mostly in the eastern part, two courses of its orthostats are still standing. It is built in the shell wall technique with protruding plinth inside and outside. The orthostats are decorated with drafted margins inside and outside, as is the case with the plinth. The bosses on the outer orthostats were left as a decorative element. The overall length of the north wall is 37.70 m, which is equal to that of the west and south walls. Its thickness is 1.35 m in the area occupied by the original building while at the later extension of the north wing is only 1.10 m.

A trench opened just north of the northern outer wall revealed the edge of the bedrock cut for the purpose. Between the vertically cut bedrock and the wall a number of Mycenaean III B and Base Ring II sherds, were found attesting to a Late Cypriot IIC foundation of Building II.
Of particular importance are the internal arrangements of Building II, especially the south wing and the sewage system of the building. The south wing occupies a rectangular space of 200m2. The elevation of the plinth of the south and north walls of this wing, checked in different places with high accuracy equipment is found to be 258.20 m.s.l.

To the north a 2 metre-thick wall that may also have acted as a retaining structure defines this wing. Its inner face is built of ashlar orthostats of dense calcarenite decorated with drafted margins. The plinth protrudes a few centimetres, thus providing a decorative element in combination with the drafted margins.

The South wing communicates with the street through a 2.65 m wide entrance. A second smaller entrance on the north wall facilitated the communication with the west wing and the inner court at a slightly higher level. A pair of small rooms symmetrically attached to the north wall occupies the two extremities of the south wing. The divisions are made of much thinner shell-walls. This type of thin shell walls is not found elsewhere in Building II. They are not tied to the thick original walls and they do not stand on a plinth. They also lack the characteristic deep foundations of the remaining walls. It is quite obvious that these walls and therefore the subdivision of the south wing are chronologically later than the original building founded during the Late Cypriot IIC period. The two pairs of rooms open onto a court-like rectangular space. (Fig. 8) The easternmost of the rooms was used as a bathroom. A crushed bathtub and a Plain White amphora were found on top of a structure resembling a well. In the courtyard a storage pithos was found on its side smashed by a small pillar. The western pair of rooms was badly affected by bulldozer activities and the floor was to a great extend destroyed. A deep pit was excavated in the corner of room C. In its bottom, three White Painted Wheel made III shallow bowls were found.

The central space between the two pairs of rooms is occupied by the Hearth-Room. This is the largest single room excavated thus far in Building II, occupying an area of 114 sq. meters. The most significant feature of this room is a square hearth in the middle of a 30 cm wide stylobate. This is a row of finely worked stones of even sizes preserved at floor level connecting the hearth to the south and north wall. The hearth itself is a monolithic square block with a side of 65 cm. Several bricks were found on three sides of the hearth smashed by the bulldozer. (Fig.9) It seems that these bricks were fired after they have been used in the hearth.

Many fragments of slender pillars, roughly semicircular in sections decorated with drafted margin were found in this room. Their find spots hint destruction caused by earthquake and the alignment on the ground suggests an original position which could be the extremities of the stylobate on either side of the hearth. Traces of mortises cut on the flat back of two of the pillars indicate attachment to the walls. It is not certain, however, whether some of the pillars were used as pilasters and others were free standing on the stylobate.

This type of pillars is so far unique in the Mediterranean but the whole arrangement of the hearth surrounded by pillars is suggestive of strong Aegean association. Semicircular pilasters, however, are known from Phaistos.

Another interesting feature within the Hearth-Room is a sunken rectangular construction measuring 3.25X5.25 m. Although excavated to bedrock at a depth of 1.86 m the evidence produced was not sufficient to clarify its use. The nearest parallel to this construction are the circular Κουλούρες of the Palace of Knossos.

The south wing as a whole highly resembles the megaron of the West House in Mycenae, which is also provided with a lateral entrance. The presence of courts on both sides of this central hall is also reminiscent of similar features in Mycenaean Palaces. The existence of a bathroom in the eastern part of the south wing opening onto the court resembles a similar situation in the Pylos palace, where the bathroom was situated in the eastern angle of the building. (Hadjisavvas & Hadjisavva 1997)

Most of the finds on the floors of the Hearth-Room mixed with ashes are shards of White Painted Wheel made III Ware, some pithos shards impressed with chariot scenes, which are characteristic of both Alassa-Pano Mandilaris and Alassa-Paliotaverna dated to the Late Cypriote III A period. Of the same character are the finds from the sunken construction. Having in mind that the foundation of Building II was dated to the Late Cypriote II C period, we come to the conclusion that the final occupation of, at least, the south wing could be associated with new inhabitants. Both the finds and the thin shell walls hint to an alteration of the original building. The first results of the Carbon 14 dating of the site seem to be in agreement with our preliminary conclusions. Two samples taken from the original floor of the main lateral entrance are no doubt about a century earlier than the sample taken from the floor of the Hearth-Room near the hearth itself. (Hadjisavvas 2003)

The NW corner of Building II is occupied by a rectangular room communicating with the west wing through a corridor parallel to the north wall. A rectangular structure attached to the corner room also communicates with the north corridor through a doorway. This structure is lacking the usual cement-like floors typical of Alassa-Paliotaverna. A large stone incorporated in the plinth of the southern wall of this structure carries two hewn channels. Its outer opening is vertically arranged and communicates directly with a long channel built of dressed stones parallel with the south wall. At the corner where this wall meets the west outer wall of Building II, the channel turns southwards and then immediately westwards through a channelled stone incorporated into the plinth of the west wall. The channelled stone is provided with a perforated projection, which conveyed the water outside the building. (Fig.10). The whole arrangement forms part of a sophisticated drainage system, which was collecting the rainwater through a vertical shaft incorporated into the thickness of the wall. Some construction details of this drainage system closely resemble the drain systems of the Palace of Knossos, such as the regularity of the channel, the collecting lowest stones and especially the channelled stone with protruding spout incorporated in the plinth of the outer west wall.

Drainage systems are known from other Late Cypriote sites as well as from Ugarit and Ras-Ibn-Hani, in Syria but none of them show the regularity and sophistication of the Alassa structure.

Building II was provided with at least one large storeroom, which was occupying most of the length of the north wing of the building. As this area formed part of another property was not affected by deep ploughing and therefore preserved a number of fragmentary pithoi. The storeroom measures 12.85 X 3.20 m. and judging from the stone bases, once supporting pithoi as well as from the pits used as pithos receptacles, could accommodate at least 16 large pithoi. (Fig.11). Additional storage area was provided between the north wall and the vertically cut bedrock, which was used as a cellar. The west part of this storeroom was provided with the only paved floor thus far discovered at Alassa. The southwest corner of the room was used for the sinking of a pithos by breaking the stone floor. The lower part of a pithos was found in situ while its upper fragments, including some with seal impressions, were found in a heap. Within the crushed pithos a fragmentary Base Ring II bowl was found.

The space between the section of the excavated bedrock and the north wall was filled up with terra-rossa. Carbonised wood was found in the undisturbed level below the top level of the plinth, which no doubt will contribute to the establishment of the absolute chronology of the building.

In the easternmost part of this space three pithoi of medium size were recovered in fragments one of them still standing in its original position. A door-like opening made between the Northwest corner of the building and the section of the bedrock to the east provided access to this improvised cellar. It’s positioning, however, is not accidental as it forms the coolest area just outside the building.

The inner courtyard of Building II covers an area of 388 sq. m. and extends beyond the limits of the north and south wings. Its floor is identical with that of the roofed areas; it is scattered with pits, most of them still preserving the bases of storage jars of different sizes.

The architecture of Building II is unique. It stands beyond any general resemblances with other buildings of the same period, which for example, include the Π-shaped plan. It is perhaps the only edifice on the island built entirely with ashlars. The idea of a portico within the inner courtyard, which probably formed the main façade of the building, the extensive storage facilities and the sophisticated sewage system are reminiscent of the Palace of Knossos.

Building II in its original L-shaped form was erected during the LCIIC period. It seems prima facie that the building was abandoned some time during the LCIIC period. Its cemented floors and ashlar walls were subsequently covered with alluvial washed down from the adjacent hill slopes. People who used red mortar reoccupied soon after some parts of Building II and mud bricks made of terrarosa. The interior of the south wing of the building was remodelled to resemble Aegean prototypes. Small dividing walls were built of ashlars, most probably taken from other parts of the building. Red mortar was used to fill the core of the thin shell-walls, while a retaining structure with the use of red mortar was built to support the north wall of the south wing. The superstructure was built of mud bricks, a material also used to raise up the eastern part of the north wing, which is a later addition as indicated by the joint point of the extension of the north outer wall as, by its inferior quality. The outer face of the ashlars are not provided with drafted margins and the wall is resting directly on bedrock without the intervention of the plinth which is present in all other parts of Building II. The reddish layer covering the south wing and the Pithos Store is the only evidence of distinction showing the two different occupation periods of Building II. The floors are the same and only the thin dividing walls of the south wing provide evidence for the alternation of its original architecture. This initial suggestion based on archaeological evidence is now confirmed by C14 dating.

In contrast to the large number of finds recovered at Alassa-Pano Mandilaris, an extremely limited number has been recorded at Paliotaverna. This fact, however, is not surprising having in mind the public character of the building as well as the destruction caused by fire in the Bronze Age, not to mention the most recent destruction.

The bulk of finds is made of pithos fragments, some decorated with impressed friezes representing scenes with humans and animals. Of the remaining finds worth mentioning is a terracotta bath, some vessels of White Painted WMIII (Fig.12) and the typical LB Age Wall brackets.

Alassa produced the largest number of fragments impressed with seals. Seven different Late Cypriot sites produced thirty-eight fragments while Alassa alone produced more than 50. (Hadjisavvas 2001)
All impressions were made of at least five different cylinder seals ranging in height from 3.5 to 7 cm. The circumference of three of them could be estimated since more than one repetition of the impression have been preserved or by supplementing one another.

Some of the impressions were made before the firing of the pithos but the majority, at least in the case of Alassa, were made by rolling the cylindrical seal over an additional band of clay encircling the pithos. In the latter case the clay was very fine and much lighter in colour.

The first fragment to be discovered was a frieze representing the chase of bulls by a chariot. The charioteer stands upright holding the reins of the horses with both hands while at the same time he is holding a long stick. His face, clearly indicated, is beardless, his hair falling on his shoulder. (Fig.13).The absence of any body details hints that he is wearing a garment. A high railing rises in the front of the chariot box as a protection for the charioteer. The chariot box is resting on the axle and here it is shown behind the four-spoke wheel. A pair of horses draws the chariot, the one shown in full profile the second one sketchily indicated. The yoke is clearly indicated even emphasized in the composition, going both around the horse’s neck and around his body. A pair of bulls in the front of the composition and a third one between the pair of horses and the pair of bulls is also shown. The rear feet of the three bulls are shown between the galloping feet of the horses. The whole chasing scene seems to take place on even surface.

The second frieze to be discovered at Alassa is made by an even larger cylinder seal measuring 7 cm in height with a circumference of 16,5 cm. The frieze represents a double combat between humans and beasts. A standing warrior stabbing a rampant griffin occupies the left part of the composition. The scene is full of motion as the griffin, in its agony, places its right rear foot on the left knee of the warrior while its right wing is embracing the body of the warrior. On the right another warrior is stabbing a rampant lion, which places its right foot on the left leg of the warrior. It seems that the double combat takes place in front of an olive tree. The stem and some of the lower branches emerge between the lion and the right warrior in order to complete the otherwise empty space between the beast and the human. The upper part of the olive tree is carefully rendered not only to complete the empty space but also to be used as a separating feature between the two scenes. The two human figures are presented naked, as heroes are, beardless with very long cascading hair strands. Both of them are wearing a belt around their waists while the right figure wears the winged shoes (πτερόεντα πέδιλα). The whole iconography is a combination of the well known scenes represented on two ivory mirror handles, one from Enkomi and one from Kouklia, now in the British and Cyprus Museum respectively.

A much smaller cylinder seal 4 cms in height and 13 in circumference make the third frieze. The central part of the composition is occupied by a kneeling figure facing a lion. (Fig.14)

Behind the central figure is a bull followed by another standing figure. The whole composition is more static compared to the previous two. The central figure is naked kneeling on his right knee and holding a dagger in his right hand. With the left hand he is holding a round shield with a central boss. In front of him a lion, his mouth open, is ready to attack. The left side of the composition shows another naked standing human figure. He is holding a spear in his left hand along with an object, probably a net. His left leg is protruding showing some forward movement. A bull follows, its head lowered towards the kneeling central figure. The whole posture of the bull also shows its readiness to attack. All figures stand on an uneven surface indicated by pellets in relief. This particular motif was found not only on pithos shoulders but also on two handles, one from Pano Mandilaris and one from Paliotaverna.

The thickness of the pithos fragments belonging to the first three groups at the height of the shoulder, where the impressions were made, range from 3 to 3.5 cm and certainly belong to quite large pithoi.
To a fourth group of large pithoi belong only two fragments with seal impressions made directly on the body before firing. The height of the cylinder is 3.5 cm and the circumference is only 5 cm. The composition is similar to that of the second group we have already described but its state of preservation cannot permit any conclusive comments. We can only assume that this impression represents a copy of the wonderful composition of the double combat but on a smaller scale.

A fifth group of impression made by a much smaller cylinder seal is represented by five fragments. The height of the cylinder is estimated to 2.5 cm but the circumference cannot by reconstructed because of the bad state of preservation and the character of the composition. A number of griffins are lying down in the foreground while at the background between the frieze of heads appear yet another frieze representing smaller heads of griffins.

The ashlar buildings recently excavated at Alassa are the only known in the Kouris river valley. We may tentatively suggest that Alassa was a town on the copper rich mountains of Alasia, actually the nearest to the source of copper. Copper ore, however, was transported to Alassa from different areas. Stratified evidence shows that iron arsenide ore, which can be mined at Pefkos, was also transported to Alassa. This was indicated by the high proportion of arsenic bronze found in slag fragments excavated at Pano Mandilaris.

The unique iconography of the seal impressions on pithoi as well as the unique architecture of Building II shows that the inhabitants of Alassa produced their own pottery and built their own houses. On the other hand various groups of finds fit well within the corpuses of the later part of the LBA in Cyprus. This fact could be explained by the intensive contacts experienced between the different settlements especially those situated on the same river route. Future studies, will, hopefully, give some answers for the role played by Alassa not only in the trade of copper but also of the LBA economy of Cyprus, and explain its presence on the lower hills of the Troodos massif.

REFERENCES

Gale, N.H. (1991) Copper Oxhide Ingots: their Origin and their Place in the Bronze Age Metals Trade in the Mediterranean. In Bronze Age Trade in the Mediterranean, edited by N. H. Gale. Jonsered. pp.197-239
Hadjisavvas, S. (1986) Alassa: a new Late Cypriote Site. Report of the Departmentof Antiquities Cyprus, ρρ. 62-7.

Hadjisavvas, S. (1989) Α Late Cypriot community at Alassa. Ιn Early Society in Cyprus, edited by Ε.J. Peltenburg. Edinburgh: Edinburgh Univer¬sity Press, ρρ. 32-42.

Hadjisavvas, S. (1991) LCIIC to LCIIIA without intruders. Ιn Cypriot Ceramics: Reading the Prehistoric Record, edited by J. Α. Barlow, D. L. Bolger and Β. Kling. University Museum Mono-graph 74. Philadelphia: University Museum, ρρ. 173-80.

Hadjisavvas, S. (1994) Alassa Archaeological Project 1991-1993. Report of the Department of Antiquities Cyprus, ρρ. 107-14.
Hadjisavvas, S. (1996) Alassa: a regional centre of Alasia? Ιn Late Bronze Age Settlement in Cyprus: Function and Relationship, edited by Ρ. Astrom and Ε. Herscher. Studies in Mediterranean Archaeology and Literature, Pocketbook 126, Jonsered. pp 23-38.

Hadjisavvas, S. and I. Hadjisavva (1997) Aegean Influence at Alassa. In Cyprus and the Aegean in Antiquity.Proceedings of an International Archaeological Conference. Nicosia 8-10 December 1995. pp. 143-148.

Hadjisavvas, S. (2001) Seal Impressed Pithos Fragments from Alassa. In Contributions to the Archaeology and History of the Bronze and Iron Ages in the Eastern Mediterranean. Studies in honour of Paul Astrom, edited by Peter M. Fischer.pp.61-68.

Hadjisavvas, S. (2003a) Cyprus and the Mediterranean World ca 1600-600 BC. In Sea Routes…From Sidon to Huelva. Interconnections in the Mediterranean 16th-6th c. BC, edited by N. Stampolides. Athens. pp.99-102

Hadjisavvas, S. (2003b) Dating Alassa. In The Synchronisation of Civilisations ited in the Eastern MediterraneanB.C. II,edited by M. Bietak Vienna. pp.431-436

Holmes, Y.L. (1972) The Foreign Trade of Cyprus during the Late Bronze Age. In The Archaeology of Cyprus. Recent Developments, edited by N. Robertson. Park Ridge, New Jersey. pp. 90-110

Knapp, Α. Β. (1996) (ed.) Near Eastern and Aegean Texts from the Third to the First Millennia BC. Vol. ΙΙ ίη Sources for the History of Cyprus, edited by Ρ. W. Wallace and Α. G. Orphanides. Albany, ΝΥ: Institute of Cypriot Studies, Uuiver¬sity at Albany, State of New Υork.

Muhly, J. D. (1972) The Land of Alashiya: refer¬ences to Alashiya ίη the texts of the second mil1ennium BC and the history of Cyprus ίη the Late Bronze Age. Ιη Acts of the First Interna¬tional Cyprological Congress, edited by V. Kara¬georghis. Nicosia: Department of Antiquities, ρρ.201-19.














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Nowadays Alassa was developed into a park-like tourist center.


==References==
==References==
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{{Limassol District}}
{{Limassol District}}


[[Category:Populated places in Limassol District]]
[[Category:Archaeological sites in Cyprus]]
[[Category:Archaeological sites in Cyprus]]
[[Category:Communities in Limassol District]]
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{{cyprus-geo-stub}} Dr Sophocles Hadjisavvas lecture on Alassa
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Revision as of 21:59, 15 August 2021

Alassa
Άλασσα
village
Alassa is located in Cyprus
Alassa
Alassa
Location in Cyprus
Coordinates: 34°45′51″N 32°55′39″E / 34.76417°N 32.92750°E / 34.76417; 32.92750
CountryCyprus
DistrictLimassol District
Population
 (2001)[1]
 • Total201
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)

Alassa (Template:Lang-gr) is a village in the Limassol District of Cyprus, north of the Kouris Dam, on the main road from Limassol to Kakopetria.

Excavations at Alassa by Cypriot archaeologists in the early 1980s unearthed the ruins of a Bronze Age city. Among other findings were the remains of a palace, suggesting that the site once had a much greater importance as a local trading center.[2] Whether Alassa was the capital of the ancient kingdom known as Alashiya remains a question of debate. The archaeologist Claude Schaeffer has made certain claims in this regard.[3][verification needed]

Roman villas have also been found there, a mosaic floor depicting Aphrodite and Eros from one of which is in the Limassol museum.[4]

Alassa has been developed in modern times as a park-like tourist centre.

References

  1. ^ Census 2001
  2. ^ S. Hadjisavvas: Alassa. A New Late Cypriot Site. In: Report of the Department of Antiquities Cyprus 1986. pp. 62–76
  3. ^ C. F. A. Schaeffer: Enkomi-Alasia. Nouvelles missions en Chypre, 1946–1950. Paris 1952.
  4. ^ "Limassol, Cyprus".
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