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T
he year 2013 marks the centenaryof the birthof
one of themost significant figures in the history
of archaeology in Australia, James Stewart (1913-
1962). It is through Stewart’s work that generations
ofAustralian archaeologists have become interested
in the archaeology and culture of ancient Cyprus,
one of the first places outside their own country that
Australian scholars conducted archaeological exca-
vations, beginning at the BronzeAge cemetery near
Vounous
in 1937-1938, and then continuing after the
Second World War. His impact on the archaeology
of Cyprus was recently celebrated at a conference
held at Cyprus American Archaeological Research
Institute (CAARI) titled “James Stewart – an ar-
chaeological legacy”, and a biography of Stewart
and his second wife will be published later this year.
Stewart and the Australian contribution to the study
of ancient Cyprus is the subject of an exhibition at
the NicholsonMuseum at the University of Sydney,
one of Australia’s most significant collections of
Cypriot artefacts.
Aphrodite’s Island: Australian
Archaeologists in Cyprus
provides the opportunity
to present the stories of these excavations and
highlight some of the artefacts in the Nicholson
Museum collection.
Cyprus is the third largest island in the
Mediterranean, and the eastern-most; humans have
occupied the island for at least ten thousand years.
Its close proximity to the Levantine coast, Egypt,
Anatolia and theAegean Sea, and its rich resources,
particularly copper, grain and timber, has seen the
island engaged with Mediterranean traders over
millennia, whilst Cyprus’ strategic positioning
saw the island become a valuable possession for
several ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern
empires throughout its history. The cultural result
of all of these influences was the development of a
distinctively Cypriot tradition in ceramic, sculpture
and other materials which can be traced in the
archaeological record. The island became one of the
mixing points of Near Eastern and Hellenic cultural
traditions; whereAstartemorphed intoAphrodite for
example – appropriately as the Greeks and Romans
believed that the goddess of love was born in the
ISLAND OFARCHAEOLOGY: Celebrating Ancient
Cyprus at the Nicholson Museum in Australia
By Dr Craig Barker
Red Polished I Ware incised tulip bowl from Vounous Tomb 127 (NM
53.171) (Photo: Phil Rogers Photography - Nicholson Museum)
Terracotta head of a female (NM 47.426)
(Photo: Phil Rogers Photography - Nicholson Museum)