Paphos: Part of a prehistoric cemetery was excavated during the 2025 excavation season in the Paphos district, following the completion of the excavation by North Carolina State University at Makounta-Voules/Mersinoudia.
According to Cyprus News Agency, the tombs are located on a ridge that sits next to the Chalcolithic village, part of which had been excavated by the team during previous excavation seasons. On this ridge, some cuts in the bedrock were visible from the surface before excavation began.
Prior to the start of the excavation, several cuts in the bedrock were already visible on the surface. The 2025 excavation season brought to light a section of a prehistoric cemetery that had been identified during a surface survey conducted by Dr. Darius Maliszewski.
It is also noted that the team excavated ten rock-cut tombs, some of which had clearly been disturbed in modern times and some of which had partially eroded down the side of the cliff face. As it is described, three types of tomb appear in the cemetery: circular shafts of approximately 1m diameter cut into the bedrock with a slight bell outward at the base, circular shafts of approximately 2m diameter with a small side chamber, and rectangular rock-cut pits.
All of the graves had been disturbed, and very few grave goods were found, only in two of them. One grave yielded dozens of beads made of shell, picrolite, faience, and quartz, while the other contained a partial human skeleton, two copper spirals, and fragments of copper wire. Based on tomb morphology and artefact types, most of these tombs can be dated to the Chalcolithic period.
Unlike the settlement area at Makounta, where the ground surface is covered in artefacts, the area of the cemetery yielded almost no surface finds. Exceptions included one large grinding stone and some ceramic fragments found near one of the tombs. The newly excavated cemetery at Makounta adds new data to the complicated picture of Chalcolithic mortuary practices in Cyprus. It also suggests both similarities and differences with the well-known cemeteries at Souskiou and offers new evidence for social organization in Cypriot prehistory.
According to the announcement, from 15 June to 17 July 2025, the team under the direction of Dr. Kathryn Grossman conducted excavations at the prehistoric cemetery at the site of Makounta-Voules-Mersinoudia in the Paphos District, northeast of Polis Chrysochous, in collaboration with Dr. Tate Paulette (North Carolina State University), Dr. Lisa Graham (College of Southern Nevada), and Dr. Andrew McCarthy (College of Southern Nevada). The project was supported by funding from the US National Science Foundation, North Carolina State University, and the American Society for Overseas Research.