© patrick550Choirokoitia ruins
According to the Department of Antiquities of the Ministry of Communications and Works, the excavations at the Neolithic site that were carried out in July and August by the National Centre of Scientific Research of France under the direction of Dr A Le Brun, turned up significant results.
Research had commenced in 2005 on the north side of the hill aiming to determine the outline of the walls, which constituted the successive boundaries of the settlement.
"The results obtained have, in many points, profoundly altered our view of the site of Choirokoitia and, more widely, our knowledge concerning the recent phase of the Neolithic Aceramic period of Cyprus," the Department said in a statement.
Research in previous years had shown that the expansion of the built area on the south side occurred simultaneously with the abandonment of the north side. According to the announcement.
"Therefore, the history of the settlement needed to be reconsidered: it must be interpreted as a rearrangement of the built environment rather than the expansion of the village," the statement added.
"This year's archaeological campaign contested the idea that we had until now concerning the way in which the site was inserted in the space. The wall, which constitutes the primitive limit of the establishment, was found in a deep trench near the river".
Initially archaeologists thought that the course of the wall was perpendicular to the flow of the river thus completing the natural protection of the river where it was absent.
The new evidence however has shown that the wall follows a parallel course to the bed of the river Maroni. Therefore, the village has to be seen in a different way, namely as a village enclosed by a wall made of massive pise with its exterior facade revetted in stone.
The elevation of such a construction at such length demands a collective effort, which requires a strongly structured social organisation, the Department said.
Not wanting to consider the prospect of someone, some civilization smarter than we think we are, not necessarily 'better', but more advanced. In this case, if you give an inch, latter you may have to give a mile.