LEMBA EXPERIMENTAL VILLAGE

View of the village from the South in 1995.

The Lemba Experimental Village was first devised and set up in 1982 as a project of archaeological research initially investigating prehistoric buildings and the impact they have on the formation of archaeological sites. It was founded on land adjacent to the excavations carried out from 1976-1983 at Lemba. With the co-operation of the Department of Antiquities of Cyprus as well as the mayor and villagers of Lemba the project developed into an important visitor attraction as well as being for research into many aspects of experimental archaeology. Since then, the project has grown considerably and now includes experiments into the study of building materials, pyrotechnology, pottery firing and prehistoric cooking methods to name but a few. We hope that in years to come many more avenues of research will be included.

With the completion of nearly fifteen years of excavation and research into the Chalcolithic Period in Cyprus and the impending publication of five major reports, the LAP had reached a stage in which it had generated enough data and questions to initiate levels of research beyond that of the excavation and survey. One area of interest was in prehistoric building technology, structures and their relation to site formation processes. Gordon Thomas completed his PhD research on this topic in 1996.

Three avenues of enquiry were followed: a study of the archaeological material, the ethnoarchaeological investigation of more recent traditional rural architecture in Cyprus (Souskiou Village), and a program of experimental archaeology at Lemba. This latter aspect of the study has formed the core of the Lemba Experimental Village. This is the first project of its kind in Cyprus and, indeed, in the whole of the Eastern Mediterranean area. Experimental archaeology is a branch of study within archaeology in which ideas about prehistoric and ancient material cultures are tested through the creation of modern analogies or replicas using materials, construction methods, and technologies known to have existed at the time. Although much has changed in the past five thousand years, the broadly similar climate and the surrounding landscape, which still provides many of the materials used in prehistory, further enhance the analogy. We are, in effect, creating a modern archaeological site where by observing, recording and duplicating our experiments, we can begin to draw conclusions about prehistoric or ancient societies and their material cultures. This is a form of scientific study which is unique to archaeology and which relies on guidelines set down in earlier studies in Britain and Europe. In the case of the LEV, the primary area of investigation is prehistoric buildings and the impact they have on the formation of archaeological sites. As in all experiments it is important that ideas are developed building upon the experience and knowledge gained from our ongoing programme of research. It will never be possible to view any one construction as the final word on prehistoric buildings, it can only be viewed as one stage in the process of discovery about these buildings and about the prehistoric society which they served.

The aims of the LEV, therefore, are to examine our ideas about prehistoric Chalcolithic buildings and in doing so, to understand how archaeological sites are formed by observing the effects of building construction, use, decay and collapse upon a site. One further, important, aspect of the project is to provide the visitor with some insight into the some of the workings of archaeology through a changing programme of experimental archaeology. It would be wrong to say that an experience of the past can be achieved by visiting the site as that would trivialise the work which has been done here. Rather, it is hoped that by combining the excavated remains and the experimental archaeology on one site, the visitor will gain an appreciation of some of our ideas about prehistoric buildings and about how we, as archaeologists, work.

In carrying out these constructions several considerations have been kept in mind. The experimental buildings are designed and constructed according to information gained from excavations and a study of the materials used in prehistoric structures. They are modern from the foundation upwards and are not built upon prehistoric remains. All the materials used in the constructions were obtained locally apart from the larger timbers which no longer grow in the Lemba area. It was not the aim of the project to try and test the use of prehistoric tools; this has been done in the past and the efficiency and time taken to use these tools has been demonstrated by othe r projects. As a result, modern tools were permitted where their use did not affect the form of the replica buildings. The use of modern tools was, therefore, allowed mainly in the acquisition and preparation of the materials used in construction but not to the building process itself.

The archaeological background to the project has provided a wealth of information upon which the experimental work is based. Excavations by the LAP at the sites of Lemba-Lakkous, Kissonerga- Mosphilia and Kissonerga-Mylouthkia have uncovered the remains of settled village agricultural communities from the Chalcolithic Period dating to around 3800-2500 BC. Circular buildings constructed from stone, earth, timber and plaster were the dominant physical features of these sites and spoke of a society which had a fairly sophisticated architectural tradition and well-developed building technologies.

A thousand year long architectural tradition is represented by the buildings from these sites where a wealth of information about the layout, walls, floors, fixtures and entrances is preserved. Additional information also comes from an examination of the materials used in the construction of these buildings; pieces of burnt and collapsed roofing, floor, wall and hearth plaster or the position and type of burnt and decayed roofing timbers. From this it has been possible to reconstruct the various types of buildings from the three Chalcolithic Periods and to observe the development in architectural traditions and technology through time. For example, Roundhouse 1 represents a building from the Middle Chalcolithic Period when magnificent buildings in mud and stone with lime plaster floors and painted plaster walls were constructed. Roundhouse 2 is typical of buildings from the Late Chalcolithic Period when slightly different building methods were used and the relationship between the buildings and the organisation of space within them suggest compounds or households of several buildings. Roundhouse 3 is different again and represents a building from the earlier part of the Middle Chalcolithic where greater use of mud was made in each construction and where each building suggests smaller individual units.

To the south of these three main exhibition structures are groups of smaller buildings, walls and pits. These are part of the ongoing project of experimental archaeology and will change from year to year. Current research in this area is carrying out investigations into building destruction/collapse and the impact which this may have on the formation of archaeological sites. So far we have allowed the roof to collapse in one building, burnt down another and constructed a third to erode and collapse through time. Many more experiments are planned.

For further information about the Lemba Experimental Village contact: Gordon.Thomas@ed.ac.uk or paulcroft@cytanet.com.cy