- Kastros
Kastros is an early
Neolithic settlement in the Turkish occupied areas of Cyprus.Location
It lies at the north-easternmost tip of the Karpaz Peninsula (
Cape Apostolos Andreas ), about 4 km north ofApostolos Andreas Monastery . The settlement is situated on a little plateau at the steep flank of the limestone promontory, about halfway between the main plateau of the peninsula and the sea in a very inaccessible situation.History of excavations
Between 1970-1973 three campaigns of excavations have been conducted by a French team headed by
Alain Le Brun .The excavation was interrupted by the Turkish invasion in 1974. Today, the structures remain open to the sky and are slowly eroding.Houses
The settlement consists of small round or roundish houses. Their diameter is between 2.5 and 2.8 m, which gives a living surface of between 5 and 6.8 m². The houses contain a hearth and sometimes container-bins in the floor. The walls are thin, composed of a single course of dry stone walling. Sometimes several of these are arranged around a common courtyard or stand on small platforms levelled into the hillside. Only one house has a more substantial wall (1.70 m thick) and the excavator thinks it might have had a function different from the rest of the structures.
Other structures
"View on the excavated area, 2002"
Burials
One burial was discovered in a shallow trapezoidal pit measuring 0.75x0.45 m. The body lay on the back, with flexed legs, the head to the northeast, the face turned to the southeast. This type of burial is known from
Dating
The site belongs to the
| Lab-number | feature | date BP | deviation |
|---|---|---|---|
| MC-803 | pit 549 | 6410 | 200 |
| MC-805 | occupation surface | 7775 | 125 |
| MC-803 | occupation surface | 7450 | 120 |
Finds
The houses contain querns. Further finds include stone-vessels (shallow bowls and pots) and flint tools made from local flint from the
Economy
The carbonised remains of
ources
*A. Le Brun, Cap Andreas – Kastros (Chypre). "Quelques resultats de la campagne de 1973." Paléorient 3, 1975/77, 305-310.
* Julie Hansen, "Ancient Neolithic plant remains in Cyprus: Clues to their origins?" In: S. Swiny, "The earliest prehistory of Cyprus. From Colonization to exploitation." Cyprus American archaeological research institute Monograph Series 2 (Boston American School of oriental research 2001), 119-128.
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