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of Cypriot art cannot be missed. They are both
excellent examples of Cypriot artistic traditions
and the external influences that Cypriot artists and
artisans were working with.
Australian scholarly activity on the island continues
today. La Trobe University conducted excavations,
survey and research projects on a series of Bronze
Age cemeteries, and excavated the Bronze Age
village site at Marki between 1990-2000, while
the University of Queensland began excavations
at Alambra in 2012. The University of Sydney’s
interest in ancient Cyprus was revived in 1995,
when Professor Richard Green began excavations
at the Hellenistic-Roman period theatre site at Nea
Paphos. These excavations continue today and
provide a training project for future generations of
Australian archaeologists.
From the Bronze Age to Roman and Medieval
Cyprus, the Australian connection with this
remarkable island and its extraordinary history
remains strong. The exhibition
Aphrodite’s Island
aims to celebrate these links through the Nicholson
Museum’s rich collection. It will be open for public
display at the University of Sydney throughout all
of 2013.
*DrCraigBarker isManager ofEducationPrograms
for Sydney University Museums, including the
Nicholson Museum. He holds a PhD in Classical
Archaeology from the University of Sydney. Dr
Barker is also the co-director of excavations at the
ancient theatre of Pafos along with Prof Richard
Green and Dr Smadar Gabrieli under the auspices
of the Department ofAntiquities. He has worked on
other excavations in Cyprus, Greece and Australia
and has published in archaeological journals.
Petra tou Romiou, the supposed birthplace of Aphrodite on the
southern coast of Cyprus (Photo: Cyprus Tourism Organisation)
Two White Painted V tankards with animal handles from Stephania
Tomb 10 (NM 53.101 & NM 53.100)
(Photo: Phil Rogers Photography - Nicholson Museum)
Red Polished Plank Figurine, from Karmi Palealona Tomb 3A (NM
2009.120 & NM 2009.114)
(Photo: Phil Rogers Photography - Nicholson Museum)