Zoomorphic clay vases
subject: Zoomorphic clay vases
subject: Hellenistic period
subject: plain ware rhyta
subject: animal-shaped pottery
subject: Bank of Cyprus Cultural Foundation
subject: Mnemosyne
description: The plain ware rhyta in the form of a he-goat dating to the Hellenistic period (310-30 B.C) belong to the Bank of Cyprus Cultural Foundation. The three zoomorphic rhyta are displayed in Figure below. They are characterized by a moulded solid head with twisted horns and ‘beard’. They have well-modelled ears, eyes and muzzle; punctures on forehead. The wheel-made cylindrical body is supported on four short legs; short tail. Basket handle at the back of the neck. On the breast there is a short narrow spout; filling-hole at the back of the base of handle. Linear incisions, made before firing, are present over the entire surface of the body. The three plain ware rhyta resemble one another strikingly, which suggests that were made in the same workshop. Their fabric and style of decoration recall the animal shaped Cypriote rattles of the same period. In this work, non-invasive analytical techniques for the study of three ceramic zoomorphic rhyta were employed, belonging to the museum of George and Nefeli Giabra Pierides located at the Bank of Cyprus Cultural Foundation in Nicosia, Cyprus. The Hellenistic pottery that has been found proves that Cyprus has an important tradition in ceramics, along with the large quantities of imported pottery that it receives from all over the Mediterranean. The three animal-shaped rhyta of simple goat form, which are prominently exhibited in the museum of the George and Nefeli Tziapra Pierides collection, are also part of this context. The animals are rendered with pragmatic features, especially their heads. Archaeologists suggested that the three plain ware rhyta have been used as ‘feeding bottles. The heads of goats are compact, have twisted horns and two of them have beards. They have elegantly constructed ears, eyes, and muzzle. They have spots on the forehead. The body is cylindrical and wheeled and rests on four short legs. The animals have a short tail and a reed-shaped handle at the back of the neck. The sternum has a short and narr…
creator: Bank of Cyprus Cultural Foundation
source: Bank of Cyprus Cultural Foundation
source: UNESCO Chair on Digital Cultural Heritage - Digital Heritage Research Lab Cyprus University of Technology
source: EU ERA Chair on Digital Cultural Heritage - MNEMOSYNE
source: EU Study VIGIE 2020/654
publisher: UNESCO and ERA Chairs on Digital Cultural Heritage Digital Heritage Research Lab Cyprus University of Technology
date: Hellenistic period (310-30 B.C)
contributor: UNESCO and ERA Chairs on Digital Cultural Heritage Digital Heritage Research Lab Cyprus University of Technology
rights: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
format: JPG
language: en
type: Images
coverage: 35°10'21.7"N 33°21'45.7"E

The three limestone statuettes
subject: Three limestone statuettes
subject: Temple-boys
subject: Bank of Cyprus Cultural Foundation
description: The three limestone statuettes date from the 5th century B.C. to the middle of the 4th century B.C. and belong to the type known as temple-boys. The statuettes are part of the George and Nefeli Giabra Pieridis Collection of Cypriot antiquities , donated donated at the Bank of Cyprus Cultural Foundation (BOCCF) in Nicosia (CY), where they are currently on display. This type of temple-boy statuette was offered to both male and female divinities as votive offerings and they are rarely found in tombs. The most plausible theory and interpretation about temple-boys statuettes is that they were somehow connected with circumcision. Temple-boys limestone statuettes must have been very popular in Cyprus as three hundred of them have been assembled by Cecilia Beer and fifty-one of them are in the Censola Collection. Samples were found also in the Levant, where they may have been exported or made locally by Cypriots. The statuettes under study, wear a chiton and a himation, the folds of which are rather crudely rendered with shallow grooves. The sandaled feet rest on a plinth. There is a scroll spread on the knees, one edge of which the boy holds with the left hand; in the right hand he holds a stylus, resting on the papyrus. Curly hair; he wears a wreath of leaves round his head. Traces of red paint on the garments, on lips and on hair. On May 31, 2022, members of the MNEMOSYNE project team visited the Museum of George and Nefeli Giabra Pierides Collection, at the BOCCF, in Nicosia, in order to study and digitize artefacts belonging to the collection. The collection numbers more than 600 objects and covers a wide range of Cypriot Archaeology from the Early Bronze Age to the Medieval period. It includes unique examples of Mycenaean pottery and examples of pottery from the Geometric, Archaic, Classical, Roman and Medieval periods, clay figurines, stone sculptures and seals, jewellery, coins and bronze objects. In consultation with the Head Curator of the Museum, Dr Christodoulos…
creator: Bank of Cyprus Cultural Foundation
source: UNESCO Chair on Digital Cultural Heritage - Digital Heritage Research Lab Cyprus University of Technology
source: Bank of Cyprus Cultural Foundation
source: EU ERA Chair on Digital Cultural Heritage - MNEMOSYNE
source: EU Study VIGIE 2020/654
publisher: UNESCO and ERA Chairs on Digital Cultural Heritage Digital Heritage Research Lab Cyprus University of Technology
date: 5th century B.C. to the middle of the 4th century B.C.
contributor: UNESCO and ERA Chairs on Digital Cultural Heritage Digital Heritage Research Lab Cyprus University of Technology
rights: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
format: JPEG
language: en
type: Image
coverage: 35°10'21.7"N 33°21'45.7"E

Late geometric Euboean Skyphos
subject: Late geometric Euboean Skyphos
subject: Cypriot Archaeology
subject: Bank of Cyprus Cultural Foundation
subject: Mnemosyne
description: The skyphos, dating back to the end of the 8th century BC, is of characteristic Late Geometric Euboean type. Such skyphoi have been found in fairly large numbers, especially in tombs in the Amathus region. The Cypriots were very fond of the Euboean drinking cups, especially during the Cypro-Archaic I period, and they also produced them locally. The skyphos belongs to the pottery collection of the George and Nefeli Giabra Pierides museum at the Bank of Cyprus Cultural Foundation. The artefact under study (height: 7cm; diameter: 11.8 cm) has convex sides, a vertical lip, two opposite horizontal loop handles on body, flat base. Decoration in orange to dark red paint. The exterior surface is decorated on both sides between handles with two confronted birds in rectangular panels separated by a group of vertical parallel lines. Above each bird there is a rectangle or lozenge probably recalling the wings of Euboean birds. The interior is painted solid. MNEMOSYNE research group has focused on the digital reconstruction of the late geometric Euboean Skyphos using photogrammetry. Additive manufacturing (3D printing) has been employed for the replication of the 3D model. ERA Chair team members have done the research and documentation of the related literature to record the conceptual model of data, aiming on the holistic documentation of the Skyphos. The taxonomy diagrams have been gathered and divided the types of data needed for the record of the cultural heritage objects into classification categories. Noninvasive chemical analytical techniques (eg. X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, FTIR spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy) could be employed for the identification of the dark orange- red colour used for the decoration of the Skyphos. Other traces of colour not visible to the naked eye could also be detected. Such identification of original pigments and comparison with related, published, scientific data may provide information for art-historical and archaeological studies on…
creator: Bank of Cyprus Cultural Foundation
source: Bank of Cyprus Cultural Foundation
source: UNESCO Chair on Digital Cultural Heritage - Digital Heritage Research Lab Cyprus University of Technology
source: EU ERA Chair on Digital Cultural Heritage - MNEMOSYNE
source: EU Study VIGIE 2020/654
publisher: UNESCO and ERA Chairs on Digital Cultural Heritage Digital Heritage Research Lab Cyprus University of Technology
date: 8th century BC
contributor: UNESCO and ERA Chairs on Digital Cultural Heritage Digital Heritage Research Lab Cyprus University of Technology
rights: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
format: JPEG
language: en
type: Image

Hercules Melqart Coin Collections
subject: Hercules Melqart Coin Collections
subject: Cypriot Archaeology
subject: Bank of Cyprus Cultural Foundation
subject: Numismatic Museum Athens
subject: Mnemosyne
description: The Numismatic Museum in Athens owns one of the most important collections of coins in a worldwide scale, covering a chronological continuum from ancient to modern times, providing a unique history of monetary practice. Material, inscriptions, typologies and iconography are the main mediums through which coins narrate cultural identities, influences and exchanges, commerce and economy, religion, mythology, aesthetics and governing systems. The present case study which will deal with a small number of coins connected with Cyprus, will undoubtedly shed light on the island’s wealth and foreign connections and exchanges with its Near Eastern neighbours, during the sixth century BC. The coins in question depict Hercules-Melqart and belong to the Numismatic Museum of Athens, as well as to the Bank of Cyprus Cultural Foundation in Nicosia. The latter possesses also an important Numismatic Collection, covering the entire range of the Cypriot coinage, from the sixth century BC, the period of the city-kingdoms to the more recent period, following the establishment of the Republic of Cyprus. The iconography of Hercules Hercules represents one of the most archetypical personalities of Greek Mythology. His distinctive characteristics as a hero and as a god find parallels as early as in the adventures of the Mesopotamian hero Gilgamesh, the earliest poem of human history. Long after his establishment in the Greek pantheon, versions of Hercules are met in the Egyptian god Chonsu, Babylonian Nergal or the Phoenician god Melqart. On a small number of Cypriot coins from the collection of the Numismatic Museum of Athens, the local version of Hercules also takes the shape of Melqart. Cypriot Hercules, or Melqart, is an excellent example of cultural exchanges and affinities, while it also provides a unique testimony for the societal processes taking place in an island, the position of which made of it an important cultural and historical crossroad in the Near East and the civilizations …
creator: Bank of Cyprus Cultural Foundation
creator: Numismatic Museum Athens
source: UNESCO Chair on Digital Cultural Heritage - Digital Heritage Research Lab Cyprus University of Technology
source: Numismatic Museum Athens
source: Bank of Cyprus Cultural Foundation
source: EU ERA Chair on Digital Cultural Heritage - MNEMOSYNE
source: EU Study VIGIE 2020/654
publisher: UNESCO and ERA Chairs on Digital Cultural Heritage Digital Heritage Research Lab Cyprus University of Technology
date: 6th Century B.C.
contributor: UNESCO and ERA Chairs on Digital Cultural Heritage Digital Heritage Research Lab Cyprus University of Technology
rights: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
format: JPEG
format: PNG
language: en
type: IMAGE

Holy Bread Prosphora Seal
subject: Σφραγίδα Ευλογίας
subject: Early Medieval Byzantine period
description: The artefact chosen for this case study is speculated to had been used for sealing bread or lead objects which were given as a blessing and/or memorial gift to the faithful during their visit to a particular pilgrimage. The artefact belongs to the George and Nefeli Giabra Pierides Museum of the Bank of Cyprus Cultural Foundation. The inscription of the seal/stamp of blessing shows a cross on its centre. The stamp probably dates from the c.6th century AD, thus placing it chronologically in the Early Medieval Byzantine period (or Early Christian period which dates from 395 to mid 7th century A.D., as defined by the Republic of Cyprus’s Department of Antiquities). The circular seal’s diameter is about 10 cm. The seal’s three antennae have a scissor tip, while the fourth one is straight. In the four corners there is an equal number of crosses. The central cross is decorated with geometric, cruciform and cruciform motifs. The seal is made of limestone, and it resembles works of stone or metal replicating them in design. The handle of the seal is also decorated with a cross. Currently there is no information on the seal’s provenance. The above information was given to the Mnemosyne project team by the head Curator of the Bank of Cyprus Cultural Foundation, Dr Christodoulos Hadjichristodoulou. Currently the use of the specific stamp as a blessed object for marking bread is disputed by the Foundation’s Curator, Dr Hadjichristodoulou on the grounds that its inscription does not seem appropriate enough to stamp bread loaves. Based on relevant archeological evidence on other similar stamps, and in particular the metal blessing of Saint Mamas (Mammes, Mammas, Mammet) of Caesarea, the Curator speculates that seals of this type could had also been used for the manufacturing of blessing stamps, however without ruling out the sealing of bread as well. Dr Hadjichristodoulou notes that other objects were also given to the faithful as blessings, such as prayer beads or even the gestur…
creator: Bank of Cyprus Cultural Foundation
source: Bank of Cyprus Cultural Foundation - Museum
source: UNESCO Chair on Digital Cultural Heritage - Digital Heritage Research Lab Cyprus University of Technology
source: EU ERA Chair on Digital Cultural Heritage - MNEMOSYNE
source: EU Study VIGIE 2020/654
publisher: UNESCO and ERA Chairs on Digital Cultural Heritage - Digital Heritage Research Lab Cyprus University of Technology
date: 6th century
date: 7th century
contributor: UNESCO and ERA Chairs on Digital Cultural Heritage - Digital Heritage Research Lab Cyprus University of Technology
rights: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
format: JPG, PNG
language: en
type: Image
coverage: 35°10'21.7"N 33°21'45.7"E

Frescoes of the Saint Euphemianos (Lysi)
subject: Frescoes
subject: Saint Euphemianos Church
description: The Church of Saint Euphemianos or Themonianos is a small, single-room, medieval chapel, surrounded by eucalyptus about 3klm southwest of the village of Lysi in the district of Ammochostos/Famagusta district of Cyprus. It is a very small, single-dome stone building with dimensions 7.5 x 3.5m (without the arch). According to the inscription on the bottom of the arch, which was destroyed by looters, is indicated that the church was dedicated by Monk Lavrentios and Abbot of St. Andronikos Monastery, to St. Euphemianos (Themonianos), a local saint. The interior is decorated with frescoes, which have suffered great damage because of the moisture. Thus, in 1972 maintenance was undertaken by the Department of Antiquities of Cyprus, completed a year before the Turkish invasion of 1974. The dome of the church is decorated with a fresco depicting the Christ Pantocrator. Surrounding the figure of Christ is a double row of angels moving towards the Hetoimasia (the preparation of the throne of the Second Coming of Christ). The Virgin Mary leads one line of the angels to the throne, while John the Baptist leads to the other. In the other fresco of the apse, the Virgin is depicted flanked by two archangels, Gabriel and Michael, with a medallion on her breast of the infant Christ, symbolizing the Incarnation of Christ. A big part of the figure of the archangel Michael has been destroyed due to humidity, whereas the face and figure of the archangel Gabriel remain in very good condition. The frescoes date back to the 13th century and they are typical examples of the Maniera Cypria, the Cypriot painting of the 13th century reflecting the artistic symbiosis between two worlds, East and West in the artworks of the period. During the 1980s, apart from icons, mosaics and frescoes which had been traumatically detached from their “natural habitat” began to appear in the international art market. The first case of organized looting that occurred after the cases of the frescoes of the church …
creator: Byzantine Musuem – Nicosia, Cyprus
source: Byzantine Musuem – Nicosia, Cyprus
source: UNESCO Chair on Digital Cultural Heritage - Digital Heritage Research Lab Cyprus University of Technology
source: EU ERA Chair on Digital Cultural Heritage - MNEMOSYNE
source: EU Study VIGIE 2020/654
publisher: UNESCO and ERA Chairs on Digital Cultural Heritage Digital Heritage Research Lab Cyprus University of Technology
date: 13th century
contributor: UNESCO and ERA Chairs on Digital Cultural Heritage Digital Heritage Research Lab Cyprus University of Technology
rights: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
format: JPG, PNG
language: en
type: Image

Icon of Panagia Chrysorrogiatissa
subject: Icon of Panagia Chrysorrogiatissa
description: The icon of Christ and the Virgin Mary covered with gold and silver is located in the Church of Chrysorrogiatissa monastery and is believed to have been painted by the Apostle and Evangelist Luke. According to tradition, the sacred icon was thrown into the sea during the iconoclastic period, in order to be saved from the iconoclasts. The waves from Isauria swept it away and carried it to the coast of Paphos, to the location of Moullia. On August 15, 1152, the monk Ignatius, who was practicing in the area, at the site of Kremasti, saw a great flash on the coast of Paphos. He found the icon and set off for his retreat. Overtired as he was, he fell asleep on the slope of Mount Rogia, under a pine tree. In his sleep, an angel of the Lord envisioned him building a temple in the name of the Virgin Mary. The building of Chrysorrogiatissa monastery as it is today, dates back to the 1760- 1770.
creator: Chrysorrogiatissa Monastery
source: Chrysorrogiatissa Monastery
source: UNESCO Chair on Digital Cultural Heritage - Digital Heritage Research Lab Cyprus University of Technology
source: EU ERA Chair on Digital Cultural Heritage - MNEMOSYNE
source: EU Study VIGIE 2020/654
source: EUreka3D
publisher: UNESCO and ERA Chairs on Digital Cultural Heritage Digital Heritage Research Lab Cyprus University of Technology
date: 1152 A.D.
contributor: UNESCO and ERA Chairs on Digital Cultural Heritage Digital Heritage Research Lab Cyprus University of Technology
rights: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
format: JPEG
format: PNG
format: MP4
language: en
type: IMAGE

The Monastery of Chrysorrogiatissa
subject: The Monastery of Chrysorrogiatissa
subject: Byzantine Heritage
description: The Monastery of Chrysorogiatissa was founded by the monk Ignatios in 1152, during the reign of the Byzantine emperor Manuel I Comnenus, following the discovery of the icon of the Virgin on the shores of Paphos, which according to tradition is one among the seventy known to have been painted by Apostle and Evangelist Luke. Despite being one of the most famous pilgrimage destinations of Cyprus, as well as one of the oldest Monasteries of the island, the foundation of which is connected with a valuable relic, the monastery of Chrysoroyiatissa has never been made the object of extensive research. Little is known about the history of the Monastery from its foundation until the middle of the eighteenth century. The Russian monk Basil Barsky, who visited the Monastery in 1735, described its catholicon as a very small church with a round top, surrounded by two or three cells; while mentioning as well that the Monastery was modest and poor and that it was maintained through agricultural work and goat grazing. The katholikon (main church) of Chrysoroyiatissa, which replaced the small twelfth-century church mentioned by Barsky, was built between 1768 and 1790. Beyond the katholikon, the monastic complex includes also a second underground church, which is a barrel-vaulted structure. The chapel most probably built during the Medieval period, bears no evidence allowing its exact dating. However, it constitutes the oldest still standing built structure, currently on the site. The Monastery owns an important collection of artefacts dating from the twelfth to the mid-nineteenth century, despite the looting of its movable heritage, following the beginning of the Greek revolution of 1821, to which almost all the Cypriot Archpriests and Bishops participated also. The most important and venerated artefacts among the Monastery’s movable heritage are exhibited at the Eikonoskevofylakion (Exhibition hall) of the Monastery created in 2001 within its walls. The exhibition includes icons, li…
creator: Chrysorrogiatissa Monastery
source: Chrysorrogiatissa Monastery
source: UNESCO Chair on Digital Cultural Heritage - Digital Heritage Research Lab Cyprus University of Technology
source: EU ERA Chair on Digital Cultural Heritage - MNEMOSYNE
source: Digital Europe Programme - EUreka3D
source: EU Study VIGIE 2020/654
publisher: UNESCO and ERA Chairs on Digital Cultural Heritage Digital Heritage Research Lab Cyprus University of Technology
date: 1152 AC
contributor: UNESCO and ERA Chairs on Digital Cultural Heritage Digital Heritage Research Lab Cyprus University of Technology
rights: C BY-NC-SA 4.0
language: en
type: Image

Chalcolithic wine jars
subject: Chalcolithic wine jars
description: Chalcolithic Wine Jars and the History of Wine in Cyprus Since antiquity, grapes have been one of the most famous agricultural products and foodstuffs of Cyprus, as well as one of the basic nutritional elements of the Cypriot diet. The vine has been cultivated on the island since ancient times, while it is still widely cultivated on the island more than any kind of fruit. Viticulture constitutes almost one quarter of the agricultural population, while a large proportion of their income derives from the vines. The famous Wine Villages (“Krasochoria”) of Cyprus – fourteen areas in Limassol, Paphos and Troodos, where inhabitants are exclusively engaged to vine planting and wine-making – constitute the core of vinification of Cyprus since antiquity. However, it is difficult to make any assumptions concerning the time and the circumstances under which the plant was brought to cultivation. It is likely that its cultivation is closely related to the knowledge of turning the fruit of the vine into wine. Wine is not only related to the nutrition or the economy of the island. Given that some of the equipment, recipes, techniques, and processes used to make wine (such as the traditional Commandaria) and zivania (another traditional grape-related beverage), as well as deserts, such as palouzes and soutzoukos, have been handed down for thousands of years, it is clear that wine constitutes a very important part of the cultural heritage – both tangible and intangible - of Cyprus, totally connected with the traditions, the art and the religion of the island. The famous Cypriot Wine The Cypriot wine became famous since antiquity while poets and historians, such as Homer, Stasinus, Pliny, Strabo, and others, sang the praises for its high quality and its sweet flavour. As early as 1100 B.C. the epic poet Homer refers to the Cypriot wine, while the great poet Hesiod in his book “Works and Days”, written around 800 B.C., describes its production in detail. Pliny highlights the importanc…
creator: Department of Antiquities
source: Department of Antiquities Limassol Archaeological Museum
source: UNESCO Chair on Digital Cultural Heritage - Digital Heritage Research Lab Cyprus University of Technology
source: EU ERA Chair on Digital Cultural Heritage - MNEMOSYNE
source: EU Study VIGIE 2020/654
publisher: UNESCO and ERA Chairs on Digital Cultural Heritage Digital Heritage Research Lab Cyprus University of Technology
date: Chalcolithic Period (3900-2500 BC)
contributor: UNESCO and ERA Chairs on Digital Cultural Heritage Digital Heritage Research Lab Cyprus University of Technology
rights: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
format: JPEG PNG
language: en
type: IMAGE

The Church of the Virgin Karmiotissa
subject: The Church of the Virgin Karmiotissa
description: The church of Panagia Karmiotissa is dedicated to the Merciful Mother of God (Panagia Eleousa). It is located north of the area of Pano Polemidia, on the outskirts of the city of Limassol, in Cyprus. The foundation of the church is dated to the period spanning from the late 13th century to the early 14th century. It was erected by Roman-Catholic monks of the Order of Carmelites, who migrated to the island following their expulsion from Mount Carmel in Palestine. The monument is currently the sole remnant of the Monastery founded by the Carmelite monks and is therefore considered an important vestige of the establishment and presence of the Mendicant Orders on the island during the Frankish period. History and structure The monument, which was fully constructed from regular ashlars, is a pointed barrel-vaulted structure, unusually spacious for a rural Cypriot church. The two additional sections attached to its north wall, most probably two adjacent chapels, are preserved today in a ruinous state. A doorway on the north wall (there are two more doors opened on the west and south walls), which was later sealed, connected the interior of the church with the two chapels. The corners of the west wall bear the bases and of arches that may have supported a gateway or a narthex. One of the upper arch cantilevers is decorated with a figure, most probably that of a Carmelite monk, preserved in a bad condition. The interior of the church is not decorated and there are no traces of plaster, indicating thus, that it has never received a painted decoration. The monument has been restored several times between 1952 and 2002. According to the oral tradition, a settlement was also built within the same area because of the existence of a spring, the water flowing from which, was and is still believed to be holy. Through a water channel, the sacred water was also transferred to the center of the nearby city of Limassol, and more specifically to the church of Ayia Napa. The church belon…
creator: Holy Metropolis of Limassol
source: The Church of the Virgin Karmiotissa
source: UNESCO Chair on Digital Cultural Heritage - Digital Heritage Research Lab Cyprus University of Technology
source: EU ERA Chair on Digital Cultural Heritage - MNEMOSYNE
source: EU Study VIGIE 2020/654
publisher: UNESCO and ERA Chairs on Digital Cultural Heritage Digital Heritage Research Lab Cyprus University of Technology
date: late 13th century to the early 14th century A.D.
contributor: UNESCO and ERA Chairs on Digital Cultural Heritage Digital Heritage Research Lab Cyprus University of Technology
rights: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
language: en
type: IMAGE