Toumba tou Skourou

The archaeological site Toumba tou Skourou (Greek Τούμπα του Σκούρου) is located in Cyprus on the shore of the Ovgos/Dar Dere near the town of Morphou. It is a settlement of the Late Bronze Age that originated around 1600 BC and was abandoned after 1350 BC. Possibly in the northwest of the island there was a political core area around Morphou that existed independently of the dominant Alashiya during the transition from the Middle to the Late Bronze Age in the southeast. The fortress Nitovikla on the Karpas Peninsula could have been a border fortress, as well as Ayios Sozomenos and five fortresses in the area around Eylenja and Geri.

Excavation

Excavations were carried out there between 1971 and 1974 by Harvard University and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. The excavation director was Emily T. Vermeule. Nearby are other sites, such as the Neolithic Petra tou Limniti, the Soloi existing from the Mycenaean to the Roman period, then Pentayia with its Bronze Age graves, as well as Agia Irini with its hippopotamus fossils, Bronze Age graves and a Roman settlement, finally the Bronze Age graves of Stefania and the sanctuary of Myrtou Pigades from the same epoch.

Oldest Settlement

Toumba tou Skourou lies, with its northern part, on an elongated hill that is separated by a gravel ramp from a group of houses to the south. The house entrances faced a street that ran parallel to the river, while the graves were located to the east.

The first settlers possibly came from the nearby Lapethos in the Kyrenia area. They erected a massive terrace wall with a length of about 30 m. In the eastern part a water channel was found, which is interpreted as evidence of a swampy landscape from which the artificial village mound rose island-like.

Probably many of the houses were workshops, divided by low walls that in turn supported benches covered with plates of multilayered gypsum. In addition to the large number of ceramic vessels, a long row of vessels along a wall also indicates the workshop character. A considerable selection of clay types was available to the craftsmen, which presumably originated from the riverbed of the Ovgos.

The oldest tomb of the site is Tomb 5. It dates from the founding period at the end of the Middle Bronze Age. In the grave goods imported vessels from Tell el Yehudiyeh were found, as well as imitations of imported ware.

New foundation (c. 1550 BC)

Around 1550 BC the settlement was abandoned, perhaps after an earthquake. The site was backfilled and rebuilt 2 m above the previous level. New floors, walls, benches and furnaces were also constructed. On the southern slope of the hill a huge facility for processing clay arose; its building was 2 m high and measured 14.5 × 6 m. Its floor consists of crushed waterproof stone and contains a series of connected basins and two large, floor‑sunken storage pithoi.

The large circular pit of Tomb I is dated to the period around 1550–1525 BC and is located below the hill. The tomb consists of 13 niches for child burials and three chambers for the interment of about 36 adults. The burial site was used for at least a century and is the largest site of this type in the area of Morphou. The grave goods consist of every type of pottery of this epoch, as it was widespread until the end of the 15th century BC. In addition to the roughly 800 vases, objects of gold, silver, bronze and ivory, jewelry and cylinder seals were found. Also imported vases from Tell el Yehudieh, bichrome vases from Palestine and fragments of Minoan vessels were found.

Metalworking, mass production (c. 1400 BC)

Around 1400 BC a strong change is noticeable. New brick walls and installations arose, for example for metalworking. Three rectangular buildings near the river and south of the ramp received new floors and walls as well as wells. House B consists of six rooms with paved and tiled floors. In the largest room a considerable number of pithoi were found, some of which are about 2 m high. It possibly served as a type of sales room. In the open courtyard spinning and weaving apparently also took place. The building existed until about 1220 BC.

The youngest Tomb 2, Chamber 4, was dated to the Amarna period, i.e. around 1350 BC. There a young woman was interred in an already existing family tomb monument. She was surrounded by rich grave goods of ivory, glass and lapis lazuli.

Late phase (until c. 700 BC)

The remains of the Mycenaean settlement were scattered around the hill. The next settlement phase is assigned to Cypro‑geometric III (850–750 BC) and extends to around 700 BC. The pieces from this time are extremely fragmentary.