Justinian-era harbour uncovered at ancient Peyia

Evidence of a vast harbour, alongside more than 700 kilograms of Late Roman amphora fragments, has been uncovered during excavations at the ancient port of Peyia, the antiquities department announced on Wednesday.

The discoveries come from the completion of the New York University excavation programme at Peyia for 2025, a six-week interdisciplinary project combining survey, excavation and specialist study.

Work focused on the ancient harbour which dates to the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian, while surface surveys continued at the Peyia necropolis.

According to the antiquities department, the amphora fragments form part of a substantial archaeological layer created to level the steep coastal cliff for port infrastructure during the 6th century AD.

These works enabled the delivery of large quantities of marble, along with column shafts and capitals used in the basilicas built at Cape Drepano under Justinian.

The amphora assemblage, identified and catalogued by Professor Stella Demesticha of the University of Cyprus, is dominated by Late Roman 1 types produced locally in the Paphos region and in Cilicia, as well as imports from ancient Palestine.

Sixty-eight red ink inscriptions preserved on the vessels offer significant scope for future research into trade and administration in Late Antiquity.

The mission was directed by Joan Breton Connelly, classics professor at New York University, and involved an international team of scientists and students from NYU, the University of Cyprus and the Cyprus Institute.

Alongside the harbour investigations, research continued on a Hellenistic tomb discovered by the NYU team in 2018.

Professor Jolanta Mlynarczyk of the University of Warsaw is studying pottery from the tomb spanning the 1st century BC to the 5th century AD, while Dr Rebecca Gerdes of Cornell University has sampled Roman cooking vessels for organic residue analysis, which may shed light on funerary or banquet practices.

Vessels largely dating to the Roman period, include cast and blown glass bowls, cups, flasks, and jugs from the mid-1st century BC to the early 3rd century AD.

Although the tomb was looted repeatedly through to the 20th century, precious objects were found in situ.

Such findings are being studied by Dr Marianna Dagi of the Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest, in collaboration with specialists from the Cyprus Institute.

Further work has focused on human skeletal remains, led by Dr Efi Nikita of the Cyprus Institute, and animal bones examined by Dr Paul Croft of the University of Cyprus.

The remains show evidence of ritual offerings or meals associated with funerary practices.

Surface survey of the necropolis and an informal survey of Cape Drepano was led by Professor Thomas Tartaron of the University of Pennsylvania, who is preparing comparative research based on surveys conducted between 2018 and 2025.