A NEW WINDOW ON BYZANTINE KOURION

Cahiers du Centre d’Études Chypriotes 43, 2013 A NEW WINDOW ON BYZANTINE KOURION Thomas W. DAVIS Résumé. En 2012, le « Kourion Urban Space Project » a exploré une zone de Kourion encore vierge, au sud et à l’ouest de la « Maison du tremblement de terre » (Earthquake House). Ces fouilles ont mis en évidence une activité d’époque byzantine ancienne à un endroit où le rocher affleurait directement à l’époque romaine. Les habitants ont aménagé des niveaux d’occupation permettant de disposer de nouvelles ressources en eau (sous la forme de citernes), ainsi qu’une zone de résidence destinée à une élite. Ce phénomène doit être interprété, à Kourion, comme une réponse systémique partielle à la destruction de la ville en 365/370 apr. J.-C. On fait appel à la « théorie de la résilience » pour intégrer dans un cadre conceptuel fonctionnel les différents aspects de cette réaction. The 4th century AD marked a watershed change for the development of Cyprus’ cultural identity. Transformed by both internal and external factors, the Cyprus that emerged by AD 400 is recognisably the forerunner of modern Cyprus. During the 4th century AD, a series of massive earthquakes devastated the cities of the island and the destruction became the catalyst for cultural change.1 Because written sources are largely silent concerning ancient Cyprus, archaeological evidence and its accurate interpretation is crucial for reconstructing this period of transition. However, archaeological research into the early Byzantine period on Cyprus has until recently, been relegated to the purview of architectural or art historical scholars.2 A truly archaeological focus on early Byzantine Cyprus has been a very recent development; consequently, much is still unclear about this crucial transformation. Byzantine archaeology on Cyprus in the colonial period under the leadership of the Director of Antiquities A.H.S. (Peter) Megaw generally was in step with archaeological research into the same cultural window in neighbouring countries. Byzantine archaeology in North Africa, Syria, Palestine and Jordan primarily focused on the elucidation and study of built resources and standing ruins, although some excavations at major sites 1. Davis 2010. 2. Davis, forthcoming. 104 ccec 43, 2013 sampled this period (Jerash in Jordan, Beth Shean in Palestine etc.) The primary aim of such excavations was the recovery of ecclesiastical floor plans and the identification of the structures.3 This reflected the architectural and liturgical orientation of most scholars studying the archaeology of the 4th to the 7th centuries AD. The process of change was essentially ignored or explained as a consequence of theological or liturgical factors. Byzantine Archaeology at Kourion On Cyprus, at the major urban archaeological site of Kourion, Byzantine material was both unanticipated and unwanted. The first scientific excavations began on the hill of Kourion in 1934 under the auspices of the University Museum of the University of Pennsylvania. The driving force behind the excavation was a wealthy amateur, George McFadden, who paid most of the cost of the excavation out of his own pocket. Bert Hodge Hill, the former Director of the American School in Athens, was brought into the project to provide a professional veneer necessary for obtaining the permit from the colonial government. Hill was pleased to note in a letter to the Director of the University Museum that “Curium would probably […] not bring us down into Byzantine times at all” (Hill to Jayne February 8, 1934).4 McFadden’s interest in Kourion was in the classical era, focusing on public space. The excavation team employed a trench and probe technique where exploratory trenches were placed across the site in the hopes of encountering intact architecture. The classical focus of McFadden insured that only remains indicating public architectural monuments were extensively examined. McFadden failed to uncover remains of the Classical and Hellenistic city on the hilltop although the site was known from historical sources, and occupation was indicated by the rich surrounding cemeteries. Ironically, one of the most important discoveries by McFadden’s team was the so-called House of Eustolios, a 5th-century AD town home with a mosaic that mentions the name of Christ. McFadden initially considered it to be the palace of the Classical era kings of Kourion, which is why it was exposed. To his credit, once he realised the Byzantine date of the house, McFadden insisted on keeping all of the floor mosaics in situ, an attitude that was at odds with the prevailing colonialist mentality of the day. Byzantine remains from Kourion when the University of Pennsylvania excavations were terminated, consisted almost exclusively of civic buildings: the House of Eustolios, the House of Achilles and the Basilica. Domestic private space was not of interest to the University Museum team and neither Roman nor Byzantine domestic areas were more than cursorily explored. Consequently, the process of development of Byzantine space from the preceding Roman city is unknown. A major flaw of the archaeological data from Kourion is the lack of publication, McFadden having died suddenly before any of his excavation results at the city site were published. In the 1960s, Megaw returned after 3. Frend 1996. 4. University Museum of Archaeology/Anthropology, University of Pennsylvania Archives. Record Group: Expedition Records. Sub-Group: Kourion. “byzantine cyprus”: t.w. davis, byzantine kourion 105 Cypriot independence to complete the excavation of the 5th-century basilica, which has been published.5 The Department of Antiquities excavation projects at Kourion, begun in the 1960s, were oriented to making the site more attractive and visible for the tourist trade, a major engine of economic development for the Republic of Cyprus; this goal became even more vital after the tragic events of 1974. Accordingly, archaeological projects by the government were geared towards ‘tourist-friendly’ public spaces. As a result, the site is rich in visible Roman period public space remains including the theatre, the forum and the bath complex. A secondary goal, the discovery of the classical city, was unfulfilled. Only a few remnants of Hellenistic occupation were uncovered, but no definitively classical structures were identified. The 4th-century destruction of Kourion at the beginning of the Byzantine period finally became the focus of research in the 1980s. David Soren of the University of Arizona, in conjunction with his re-excavation of the Temple of Apollo, planned a single season of work in 1984 at Kourion to help determine the date of the earthquake in the 4th century AD that destroyed the temple. This excavation uncovered the Earthquake House and grew to a four-season project.6 The Earthquake House was a second order domestic structure destroyed by an earthquake c. AD 370, and never reoccupied.7 The architecture was not elaborate, but functional, and was equipped only with plain plaster walls and packed earth floors. The excavations revealed not only a substantive artefact assemblage in situ, but also the remains of victims that had been killed during the event. Such sudden and complete destruction makes Kourion one of only a few sites around the ancient Mediterranean to provide archaeologists with the opportunity to analyse artefact assemblages in the context of their daily use rather than after they have been discarded. The Kourion Urban Space Project In 2012, I initiated the Kourion Urban Space Project (KUSP) to gain a better understanding of the urban domestic space of Kourion and by extension late Roman Cyprus. The roots of KUSP go back to the Arizona excavations. As a graduate student, I served as field director of those excavations in the first two seasons (1984 and 1985). The Earthquake House represents a class of architecture that has been largely neglected in Cypriot archaeology and in Eastern Mediterranean archaeology of this period in favour of more elite public and private buildings. KUSP initially planned to build on the work of the Arizona team and of the more recent Kourion Mapping Project (KMP) by conducting focused excavation in the immediate surroundings of the Earthquake House to provide 5. Megaw 2008. 6. Soren, Davis 1985; Soren, Gardiner, Davis 1986; Williams 1987; Molinari, Leonard, Soren 1988; Soren, James 1988; Costello 2011. 7. Costello 2011. 106 ccec 43, 2013 much needed context for understanding the organisation of non-elite domestic households in late Roman Kourion.8 The initial research goals of KUSP were formulated for a specific excavation area directly adjacent to the Earthquake House; however, the preferred excavation area was not available for the 2012 season (work began here in 2013). Instead the KUSP team concentrated on an area of the site never sampled before, although it had been walked over by the KMP. The 2012 KUSP research area lay within a topographic depression leading to the south edge of the site, southeast of the basilica and southwest of the Earthquake House (Fig. 1). Figure 1. The Byzantine Space of McFadden’s Kourion. The 2012 KUSP Study Area. The closest KUSP excavation square to the Earthquake House was in Area A. The location of Area A was chosen because of its proximity to, as well as its similar elevation to, the Earthquake House. Area B was placed north of a cistern identified by the KMP. This unit was excavated to discover more information on the access and use of the cistern. Area C was placed on the cliff edge at the base of the southwest crest of the hill. Erosion of the cliff side immediately adjacent to Area C had revealed remnant walls and plastering indicating a possible water installation. All of these test units were expected to reveal material remains from before the earthquake in AD 365/370. Area D was excavated at the behest of the Department of Antiquities as part of a plan to rescue three eroding mosaic floors. 8. Buell, Mavromatis, Parks 2010. “byzantine cyprus”: t.w. davis, byzantine kourion 107 Square A1 was initially placed to test surface indications of a wall with a similar apparent orientation to walls in the Earthquake House. This square eventually measured 22 m2 in the shape of an English letter L. The unit expanded beyond the original 3 x 3 m window first to the west and then to the north. Bedrock was exposed at the base of the unit within a 2 x 1.5 m test trench, 1.7 m below the top of the excavation. Two intact walls were placed directly on the bedrock. Consisting of well laid stones surviving for 1.5 m in height, the walls were bonded together at a 90 degree angle. Both walls were non-coursed and chinked with small stones and ceramics, and plaster remained on the walls to approximately 10 cm above their base. The area excavated between the walls appears to be an exterior space as no occupational surface was identified within square A. At first glance this fill appeared to be in situ earthquake debris; however, the material cultural remains recovered from the fill indicate a post-quake date in the mid to late 5th century AD. The exposed bedrock revealed a small (60 x 90 cm) pit cut 20 to 40 cm into the bedrock. The small basin showed no evidence of usage. Our current hypothesis is that the pit served as a settling basin for a large cistern feature. This hypothesis also accounts for the plastering of the walls. The fill material included mainly domestic utilitarian pottery including Late Roman cooking pots, store jars, small vessels and jars. None were reconstructable, suggesting that this fill came from a variety of contexts. Stone architectural members, including cornice fragments, were also recovered from Area A supporting the hypothesis of multiple context sources for the fill. One nearly complete lamp, a Vosberg Type 18 lamp with a hole in the base, was recovered high up in the unit in the disturbed surface material. It is our working hypothesis that this unit was deliberately filled with refuse to the top of the walls to either strengthen the walls or create a stable surface that could then be used for other purposes. Area B was placed north of a cistern identified by the KMP on a flat open hilltop southeast of the Earthquake House. This unit was excavated to discover more information on the access and use of the cistern. The unit, measuring 3 x 5 m, revealed a manipulated landscape from the Late Roman period. As in Unit A1, Unit B revealed no pre-Earthquake intact deposits. The basal deposits in the unit were the result of a deliberate filling episode laid on uneven bedrock. Datable objects found within this fill-layer, specifically, multiple joining fragments of an African Red Slip Hayes’ Form 93 bowl, place the construction of the compacted earth surface sometime after AD 475, providing a terminus post quem for the use of this area of the site. This was consistent with the dating of the fill from Area A. The stone and debris fill was capped with a hardened mud surface with flat laying sherds on top of it (Fig. 2). This surface may have been created to ease access to the cistern. It appears that this area of the site was never previously occupied, although some late Hellenistic sherds were recovered from the fill. The fill was brought in to this portion of the site, which appears to have been an exposed rocky face during the Roman period. Area C is situated on a flat, open space approximately 112 m south of the southwestern corner of the Earthquake House and lies on the edge of a cliff overlooking the 108 ccec 43, 2013 Mediterranean Sea to the south. The topography rises abruptly to the north and east in the direction of Areas A and B, respectively, while the topography drops into a shallow depression to the west where Area D is located. The southern side of Area C faces a cliff that drops off dramatically to the beach 65 meters below. Figure 2. KUSP 2012 Research Area B. Figure 3. KUSP 2012 Area C. “byzantine cyprus”: t.w. davis, byzantine kourion 109 Excavation revealed a basin structure or water pool measuring 9.6 x 1.7 x 0.82 m (Fig. 3). In situ remains of vertical plastered walls vary in height from 1-6 cm. Soil contained within the basin structure was compact and contained pebble inclusions along with small plaster fragments, a few of which were painted. Careful excavation of the basin revealed a refined plastered surface along the northern, eastern and southern sides. The western side had a distinctly different plastered surface that was more course and less refined. Two water channels which drained the pool on its western side were separated by just over 3 m. The southern-most channel, comprised of two terracotta pipes, appears to have been used in the first phase of the pool. However, when the pool was re-worked or repaired, the water channel was capped by hydraulic plaster on its eastern end. In addition to being capped with plaster, it also had a double-rimmed, fine-ware, 1st-century AD ceramic bowl inserted into it prior to being sealed with hydraulic plaster. The western end of the terracotta pipe section appeared to have emptied into another pool. Evidence of a vertical, plastered wall was found on the western façade of what is possibly shaped bedrock. This may have been another pool, which was connected to the main basin via the southern channel. The slope of the floor of the pool indicates that the water flowed towards the northern channel. Both ends of the pool are sloped downward toward the northern-most water channel in the northern third of the pool. The north-eastern corner of the basin contained a wall collapse which provided a sealed context, but nothing was found under the collapse. Two sections of the wall were removed from the collapse demonstrating that the wall was at least 82 cm high in the north-eastern corner. It appears that the original design of the pool was rectangular in nature. However, the southwest corner of the pool has an inset that projects 45 cm from the western wall and 125 cm from the southern wall. It is likely that this was added to the pool at a secondary or later phase. Unfortunately, little remains of any features in immediate proximity to the pool. Excavations immediately west of the pool revealed a plastered floor surface, cobbled surfaces, bedrock and a fill. As noted above, the southern water channel terminated on its western end into another pool. However, at some point, possibly at the same time usage of the southern water channel was discontinued, this pool was filled in with large, uniform, cobble-sized stones. It appears that an unknown architectural feature ran along the entire western wall. Massive bedrock blocks were excavated on the northern end of the western wall, which were either carved out, or carved and imported, in order to support the superstructure. Debris with bone, glass, ceramic sherds, roof tiles, stones etc. was used as fill to level out the section on the north-western portion of Area C. Area D, trench 1 is located directly north of a rock-cut cistern on the southern edge of the cliff, west of Area C. Area D1 was chosen for excavation due to the presence of two mosaic patches and associated architectural features located at roughly the same elevation. Originally, a 3 x 2 m trench was opened to provide a section of the slope above the eastern mosaic feature in order to facilitate future excavation of the supposed structure as well as to expose the mosaic for conservation. Approximately 40 cm of overburden was removed, revealing a wall feature running north-south and another running roughly 110 ccec 43, 2013 east-west. The mosaic which had initially prompted the opening of the trench lies south of this east-west wall and measures only 80 x 75 cm. To the north of the east-west wall a layer of loose stone tumble covered the remainder of the trench. Flat-lying sherds of an amphora and a pithos were found associated with this stone tumble approximately 40 cm higher than the floor surface, and probably represent fill material dumped after the original use phase of the space. A particularly concentrated scattering of tesserae was found at the same elevation on the east side of the wall feature. A significant amount of flat-lying painted plaster associated with this tumble indicates a wall collapse in what was likely an elite residence. Additionally, a layer of 5-8 cm of silt separated this tumble from the mosaic surface beneath, indicating a period of abandonment prior to the eventual collapse of the structure. While a mosaic floor is clearly evident to the west of the north-south wall feature, no floor level was found on the east side, and only the western face of the wall exhibited signs of plaster. After five days of excavation the original trench was extended to the west by 5 m to incorporate the second mosaic feature. The new trench was bounded to the west by another north-south wall feature running parallel to that found in the initial trench. This would prove to be the western wall of the structure; the stones included impressions indicative of a door. As the tumble was removed it became clear that the eastern and western mosaics were in fact the floor of a single room. The stone tumble throughout the trench did not display the distinctive features of the earthquake destruction layer found elsewhere at Kourion, meaning that the earthquake of AD 365-370 serves as a terminus post quem for the structure. At present this is the only indicator of the structure’s date as there was no material culture directly associated with the floor. The mosaic floor lies approximately 62 m above sea level, and extends 5.25 m from east-to-west and 3 m from the southern wall to the north before disappearing within the trench’s northern baulk. The mosaic is intact aside from slight damage from erosion along its south-western tip; the silt which lies above and a layer of lime which was deposited directly on the mosaic appears to have protected it from damage. Unfortunately, the lime deposit also obscures the pattern of the mosaic. Although a design in blue and red on a predominantly white field was faintly visible, an accurate assessment of the mosaic in this trench awaits additional excavation. The rock tumble appears to provide a sealed context for the material that lies directly above the mosaic floor, increasing the odds of dating the floor following further excavation. Area D2 was chosen for excavation due to discovery of a visible portion of a multicoloured mosaic consisting of relatively large tesserae ( > 1 cm3). This mosaic was discovered on the hill slope, approximately 3 m below the main site. A large chunk of bedrock had broken from the cliff edge and fallen onto the mosaic obscuring one third of the floor. Excavations began at Square 2 with a preliminary probe around the lower mosaic to define the extent of the floor and to prepare the area for conservation. In order to expose the mosaic for conservation, the limestone formation was partially removed in pieces with a wedge and a sledgehammer. “byzantine cyprus”: t.w. davis, byzantine kourion 111 Following the removal of the limestone formation, excavation revealed over a meter of slope wash with little material culture. The layer beneath the slope wash consisted of approximately 11 cm of loess soil with plaster melt in the centre of the trench and limestone fragments. This layer was sifted and contained an assortment of small and large tesserae, marble fragments and painted plaster. A rubble layer on the north end of the trench beyond the mosaic was not removed due to concerns about destabilisation of the north baulk. Figure 4. Clearing the mosaic in Area D-2. The Department of Antiquities, under the direction of Dr Lefteris Charalambous, removed approximately 5 cm of soil above the mosaic and the plaster melt in the centre of the trench, revealing the mosaic floor and numerous tesserae, marble fragments and a few non-datable pottery sherds. The mosaic is approximately 189 x 187 cm and consists of a geometric border in red, blue and white. The centre panel was almost entirely destroyed in antiquity but enough survived for the conservation team to determine that the centre design was geometric, with a swastika motif (Fig. 4). Due to significant erosion on the hill, no architectural elements were found in Square 2, apart from the mosaic. Further investigation into the north baulk and to the west and east are needed to determine the extent of the room. The plaster and rubble layer on the north end of the trench may indicate the presence of a wall or wall collapse on the north side of the trench. A lack of earthquake debris suggests a construction date after the mid-4th century earthquake. 112 ccec 43, 2013 New Byzantine Space The Kourion Urban Space Project revealed an early Byzantine cityscape that was first occupied after the 4th-century AD earthquakes in an area that was exposed bedrock during the Roman period. The results of the 2012 season of KUSP strongly indicate that the tested area was never occupied before this horizon. The presence of an open space measuring nearly one hectare immediately adjacent to the intensely occupied Earthquake House area raises challenging questions about our assumptions relating to urban population density and urban landscapes in Roman Cyprus; however, these issues go well beyond the scope of this current paper. It is clear that this new space on the cliff at Kourion was being used in the 5th-6th century AD (post-earthquake). The evidence indicates that although the Earthquake House was not reoccupied, a new section of the city was laid out on a previously unoccupied hillside. The new neighbourhood appears to be an area of mixed functionality. The Byzantine inhabitants manipulated the terrain, creating level spaces to access new water resources (cisterns) which would have been necessary after the destruction of the main urban aqueduct in the earthquake of 365 AD. The presence of at least six cisterns within the KUSP area of investigation (a total including cisterns previously identified by the Kourion Mapping Project) and the evidence of deliberate filling in Area B to create a stable surface leading to one of the cisterns, suggests that at least some of the cisterns were dug to provide water for the post-quake city, although no cisterns in this area of Kourion have been solidly dated yet. The destruction of the aqueducts would have forced the returning inhabitants to use cisterns if they wished to rebuild permanently on the hill of Kourion, which lacks natural springs. This also may have been an area of elite residences. The pool (Area C) which was likely the centrepiece of some larger structure that surrounded it, had two, or possibly three phases of usage; however, nothing conclusive can be determined because not enough of the superstructure currently exists. The presence of tesserae found within the excavation of the pool, as well as washed down the cliff below, suggests that the structures surrounding the pool were decorated with mosaics. The presence of scattered fine-ware remnants and the ornate character of the structure suggest that this was private space, possibly a reflecting pool, belonging to an affluent citizen who was taking advantage of the cliff-side breezes and views, as well as access to nearby water cisterns. The structure speaks to the private space of someone who had substantive economic resources. The rubble that lay atop the primary mosaic feature in Area D1 suggests the remains of an elite urban residence, primarily through the quantity and quality of painted plaster that have been recovered. Numerous pieces of plaster lying face down on the floor indicate a probable wall collapse, and a second story to the structure may have existed. Additionally, remnant wall features to the east and west indicate an extensive structure well placed to catch the sea breezes. Erosion of the cliff face doubtless removed much of the material from the excavated area and probably much of the original architecture as well. A few wall mosaic tesserae were also recovered just above the floor mosaic in D2. “byzantine cyprus”: t.w. davis, byzantine kourion 113 A Resilient City Evidence from the Earthquake House and the forum indicates that the immediate aftermath of the destruction was marked by squatter activity focused almost certainly on simple survival.9 The failure to bury the dead or even dig into the destroyed remains of the Earthquake House indicates the surviving population was either unconnected by any familial ties to the inhabitants of the house or too traumatised to deal with the dead. This space was never reoccupied for habitation, eventually becoming a source of raw materials for lime kilns. In some ways the reoccupation of Kourion was an anomaly. Regional cultural disruptions both before the 4th century AD and after it had led to population dislocations in the Kouris Valley. The Bronze Age collapse in the 11th century BC witnessed the abandonment of Episkopi Bamboula and the Erimi site and consequently, a new settlement on the Kourion acropolis. The Arab raids and earthquakes of the late 7th century AD also produced a major population shift which included the founding of the village of Episkopi and the general abandonment of the Kourion acropolis. It needs to be remembered that there were no inherent factors in the physical or cultural geography of Kourion that would have dictated a major reoccupation of the acropolis of Kourion after the 4th-century destruction. There was no natural harbour associated with the city; the site lacked natural springs; no natural resources were present whose exploitation would generate a local population. The major economic engine of the previous city had been the Temple of Apollo and this had been destroyed in the 365/370 AD earthquake and was never restored.10 The new Byzantine space at Kourion should be understood as part of a systemic response at Kourion to the destruction of the city in AD 365/370. The Byzantine Kourieis responded to the destruction of their city in both material and immaterial ways. Resilience Theory provides a useful conceptual framework to integrate the different aspects of this response.11 “Resilience theory emphasizes the inevitability of both stability and transformation. Neither stability nor transformation is assumed to be the norm; rather, systems are seen as moving between the two in what has been termed an adaptive cycle [emphasis in original] Subsequent iterations of the cycle can repeat previous patterns, or transformation can be revolutionary, leading to fundamentally new configurations, possibilities, and dynamics”.12 The inhabitants of Kourion chose a suite of responses designed to both prevent a new earthquake and to insure the survival of the rebuilt city if a new earthquake occurred. The occupation of the new KUSP-sampled space and the abandonment of the Earthquake House area is part of this response. The Byzantine engineers manipulated the urban landscape to help fulfil the fundamental physical need of the city for water. 9. Soren, Gardiner, Davis 1985. 10. Soren 1987. 11. Redman 2005; �olli, Healy 2012. 12. Redman 2005, p. 72. 114 ccec 43, 2013 Restoring the aqueduct system of the Roman city would have required a massive capital outlay in exchange for a water capacity that was no longer necessary due to a reduced population and would be just as vulnerable to a new quake. Instead, the Kourieis used the older technology of cisterns fed from runoff; they manipulated the internal urban landscape, using a previously vacant area of land with appropriate topography to locate a concentration of cisterns. Cistern systems are less vulnerable to earthquakes. A new cistern-based water system is also manifested in the 5th century AD construction of the basilica and at the House of Eustolios.13 This new area was also opened up for occupation by the residents. New elite residences were built on the cliff side which required the manipulation of the terrain to allow for access to them. It is possible that a new gate system may have been installed in this area, with a roadway leading down to the beachfront providing access from this elite neighbourhood to the seacoast. A gate system in this topographic depression would also have allowed more direct access to the new basilica built adjacent to the ruins of the forum. After the construction of the beachfront basilica a new gate and road system in this space would have provided a very efficient link between the two basilicas. No direct evidence of this hypothesised gate has been found to date, although the visible cliff side topography is suggestive. Another possible factor leading to the utilisation of new space is psychological. The abandonment of the Earthquake House and more importantly, the non-retrieval of the remains of the dead, suggest that previous domestic space on the site may have become associated in the minds of the inhabitants with the destruction and the death it brought with it. Perhaps a re-occupation might have been considered too risky since death had accompanied the destruction of houses built in that space previously. In the minds of the Kourieis, it might have become a space better left alone. The island-wide embrace of Christianity after the earthquakes of the 4th century AD is another aspect of response to the destructions. This conversion is in some ways a preventative measure, designed to forestall another earthquake by embracing a faith that offered a positive rationale for the earthquake and its accompanying destruction. If the quakes were a punishment for false belief (so the inhabitants may have reasoned), then the new deity, once accepted, should have the power to prevent another earthquake. However, if another quake does occur (which would be theologically interpreted as a judgment on sinful practices of believers) Christ, having conquered death himself, would still provide an eternal safety-net that would allow His followers to face any new tragedies with hope. This belief is evidenced at Kourion in the inscriptions from the House of Eustolios.14 The new faith provides a renewed sense of purpose and of optimism in the future, exemplified at Kourion by the construction of a major urban basilica, and at least 2 more churches immediately outside the city. The urban basilica was the seat of the Bishop and 13. Megaw 2008 and Christou 2007 respectively. 14. See, for example, Mitford 1971, nos 202-205. “byzantine cyprus”: t.w. davis, byzantine kourion 115 this episcopal precinct probably became an important economic engine in the revival of Kourion. The construction of new dwellings in the KUSP space also demonstrates the recovery of a sense of security, economic stability and optimism in the future. The resilient system design of the Byzantine city of Kourion was well designed to prevent and/or survive a new earthquake. However, as is often the case with resilient systems in the natural world, the system could not handle the next destructive threat to Kourion, which were the Arab raids of the 7th century. The response of the inhabitants to the Arab assault ultimately included the abandonment of the city. Tandy Institute for Archaeology Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Fort Worth BIBLIOGRAPHY Buell M., MavroMatis c., parks D.A., 2010 “The Kourion Mapping Project: A contextual spatial analysis of the Kourion acropolis”, RDAC, p. 261-95. Christou D., 2007, Kourion: Its Monuments and Local Museum, Strovolos. Costello IV B, 2011, An Analysis of the Architecture and Material Culture from the Earthquake House at Kourion, Cyprus, Unpublished Ph.D. thesis, University at Buffalo, State University of New York. davis T., 2010, “Earthquakes and the Crises of Faith: Social Transformation in Late Antique Cyprus”, Buried History 46, p. 5-16. davis T., forthcoming, “A History of Byzantine Archaeology on Cyprus”, in C. Stewart, A. Weyl Carr, T. Davis (eds), Cyprus and the Balance of Empires: from Justinian I to the Coeur de Lion (CAARI Monograph Series), Boston. Frend W.H.C., 1998, The Archaeology of Early Christianity, Minneapolis. Megaw A.H.S., 2008, Kourion: Excavations in the Episcopal Precinct (Dumbarton Oaks Studies 38), Cambridge, MA. MitFord T.B. 1971, The Inscriptions of Kourion (Memoirs of the American Philosophical Society 83), Philadelphia. Molinari p., leonard J., soren D., 1988, “University of Arizona Excavations at Kourion 1984-1987”, RDAC vol. 2, p. 171-178. 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