Ancient Lemba

[Dominic]

Yesterday a news headline caught my eye: "An ancient Chalcolithic settlement site in Lemba in Paphos urgently requires maintenance, according to the local community leader". We had visited this site before, so I thought I should revisit it to see just how urgent the maintenance was...

Read the article and chat about it below...

[JimX]

Morning Dominic.

Maybe this is because a new road is going straight through or close by, my daughters home is the nearest to this site on the same side, they have been warned about this road, so maybe this is the reason why the site is not being maintained?.

By the way Lemba Village is an artist village with several small art collages, it is also a refugee village from 1974

The site is to the right hand side behind those trees. webcam picture.

[cyprusmax47]

It looks to me that one started to remove the roof beams, I mean ripped them out in
a brutal manner (certainly no Archaeologist) and part of the wall went with it.
The actual state of the site is embarrassing for Paphos 2017 visitors. Perhaps they are
waiting for experts to do a proper job as a normal bricklayer would not be able to.
Max

[Dominic]

They are reconstructions, so it is not as if they have to be treated with kid gloves. They just need to be restored properly.

[JimX]

As posted it is that road, maybe do not think any renovations are worth going ahead with.

[cyprusmax47]

The main building how it looked 2009....

[PaphosAL]

I've visited this fascinating Chalcolithic settlement in Lemba/Lempa on a number of occassions between 2002 and 2008, both alone, and taking friends 'n family to see it. I always thought it was Neolithic, but let's not argue that point, LOL!

The largest building has 4 uprights, with 4 lateral beams on top of them supporting the radial roof trusses. This is clear, in the excellent photos above. There would have been a hole in the roof to allow the heating/cooking smoke from a central log fire at ground level to escape. (This chimney must have had some sort of raised cover above it, to prevent rain getting in... Any ideas on this one, peeps?)

Turning to the smaller building, the one one with the collapsed roof and the large hole in the top of the wall, just below roof level. Working from memory, I'm sure this design comprised of a single upright log in the centre, supporting the radial roof beams. In both cases, the roofing (and walls) would have offered excellent insulation from the extremes of summer heat and the winter cold, being made from earth (a construction feature now being reinvented in Eco houses in the UK and Europe)

What caused the damage to the small building?

Maybe dry rot or termite infestation in the central support pillar caused it to collapse, dropping the whole (very heavy) roof down with it, as well as tearing out an upper section of earth wall that happened to be well-affixed on the previous restoration?

Or, conspiracy theory: A local bought a RPG launcher and grenades from FleaBay/Syria and used this building as target practice, blowing the hole through the wall and severing the central wooden upright? Spooky, I know, but I can't help arriving at similarities with 9/11 and the Pentagon...

(Sorry, I digress off topic here: One round hole in the Pentagon, one jet engine found, ALL local area CCTV confiscated by the FBI? When a 4 engined hi-jacked Boeing 747 Jumbo jet was supposed to have been deliberately crashed into that building? Nah... Biggest US gov cover-up of ALL time, IMHO! I think we all know that it was a wayward Tomahawk cruise missile launched to destroy the third hi-jacked plane, targeting the White House. But the brave passengers fought back and brought that plane down in a safe area, sacrificing their lives in the process. They should all be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honour, RIP...

With no target to find, the Tomahawk did what it was programmed to do, doh.. Straight back to the room in the Pentagon where a snotty-nosed little oik was controlling it from on his joystick!)

@ Allesley: Greetings from AL, and I hope you and your family are all well. How is Jim after all these years of board management? Retired gracefully and keeping fit, walking the dog daily, I hope, LOL!

Cheers- AL (Apologies for the off topic bit, should have started a new thread really, but there again, it has nowt to do with Pafos, does it?)

[Kili01]

A locally based archaeologist, Dr Paul Croft was the brains behind the experiment to try to reconsruct a Chalcolithic round house. I understand that it was after his excavations revealed the foundations - a stones in a circle with a blackened hearth stone was surviving evidence that there had been a village of these houses. He decided to build them of locally sourced materials. But he didn't use modern bricks or roofing materials and there was no pattern to follow . He used earth, timber, grasses etc. The sun would bake the walls dry as they were built of earth and straw. The roofs were thatched with local reeds laid over timbers. But though these materials were adiquate for average dry conditions in sustained heavy rain they were able to collapse. Probably the original village would have had similar problems.

[Bograt]

Mr Papantoniou (the supermarket tycoon!) recently had his luxury family home built up there, I'm sure he would've researched the potential new road situation!

The lush forest surrounding the art college is simply sublime, we recently did our outside wedding pics there and it looks like we're in a rain forest - the colours are AMAZING!

Notices show that you are allowed to walk dogs around there and it'd make a nice change for them, the wooden bridge is safe if a little rickety!

Also in Kissonerga the remains of apparently the oldest known brewery in Cyprus was discovered and every Summer students from all over work on it! I'll certainly raise a drink to that!

I'm a bit late to this blog, but - Flossie, you've raised two interesting points there. I haven't seen the forest round the art college, so will make a beeline for it when next over. Do you have any more info on this Kissonerga brewery? Where is it? I'd love to go see.

[Dominic]

I will dig out some shots. I seem to remember lots of Morning Glory. There will be blogs on the art college and Lemba itself soon. Oh the excitement.

[Bograt]

I will dig out some shots. I seem to remember lots of Morning Glory. There will be blogs on the art college and Lemba itself soon. Oh the excitement.

Thank you, I will look forward to that. There is a joke here, but I think I'd better keep quiet

[Dominic]

Don't be hard on yourself Bograt.

[Dominic]

Here you go. I presume this is what the rain forest was.

P1020700.JPG (287.05 KiB) Viewed 8151 times

P1020701.JPG (317.16 KiB) Viewed 8151 times

This was taken last October. Some of these blogs take longer to write than others...

[Bograt]

Don't be hard on yourself Bograt.

I just want to remain an upstanding member of the forum.

[Bograt]

Oh, and great pictures. Thanks for sharing, I definitely need to go see.

[cyprusmax47]

Here you go. I presume this is what the rain forest was.

P1020700.JPG

P1020701.JPG

This was taken last October. Some of these blogs take longer to write than others...

One can see what Morning Glory does when it is out of control. If you have it in your garden it is the biggest headache to stop them growing everywhere while killing (strangling) all other plants...One of their shoots grow 3-5 m in one week and appear for a sudden in a different area of the garden. I hate them...as they are always growing in my friends garden where I promised to look after..
Max