The Mediterranean has always been a place of dynamic cultural and artistic interaction. With the advent of burgeoning sea trade in the second half of the second millennium BCE, or the Late Bronze Age, Cyprus became a vital and prominent place of interaction, bringing together people and ideas from all parts of the Mediterranean world. The village of Phlamoudhi was a part of that vibrant world. Most remarkable among the archaeological discoveries there are the sites of Melissa and Vounari. They preserve unique views into the expanding world of international sea trade in the Mediterranean Late Bronze Age. The contributions of Phlamoudhi to the art and culture of the Mediterranean were made public for the first time in an exhibition in 2005 in the Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Art Gallery.
What we know about ancient Phlamoudhi survives mainly in the written records of the original Columbia expedition, in copious photographs and drawings by the original team and ours, and the thousands of ceramic, terracotta, metal, and stone artifacts uncovered in the excavations.
The Guide to Phlamoudhi is modeled on the standard series of Bank of Cyprus Cultural Foundation guidebooks to archaeological sites on Cyprus. It represents the work of countless individuals who have contributed to the original discovery, the study and analysis, and, ultimately, the publication of sites found by the Columbia University Expedition to Phlamoudhi. This volume is intended as a general guide to the discoveries made by the original Columbia University Expedition to Phlamoudhi.
