VASILIKI KASSIANIDOU
Dr Vasiliki Kassianidou studied at Bryn Mawr College, USA where she did a double major in Chemistry and Classical and Near Eastern Archaeology. She received her bachelor’s degree (BA) with a distinction (Cum Laude) in 1989. She continued her studies at the Institute of Archaeology, University College London where she received her doctoral degree (PhD) in 1993.
Until 1994 she worked as a post-doctoral researcher at the Institute of Archaeology, UCL and then she joined the faculty of the Department of History and Archaeology of the University of Cyprus in 1994 as a lecturer in Environmental Archaeology and Archaeometry. She was promoted to the rank of Professor in 2013. In May of 2023 she was elected Dean of the Faculty of Letters of the University of Cyprus. From 2015 to 2019 she was the Director of the Archaeological Research Unit of the University of Cyprus. From 2014 -2016 she served as the President of the Board of Trustees of the Cultural Foundation of the Bank of Cyprus. In 2014 she was appointed to the Board of Directors of the Cyprus National Commission for UNESCO, a position she has held until 2023. In 2018 the Ministers Council of the Republic of Cyprus appointed her as a member of the Board of Directors of the National Board of Research and Innovation. In 2022 she was elected Corresponding Member of the Archaeological Institute of America. The only other Cypriot archaeologist to receive this great honour was the former Director of the Department of Antiquities and Professor Emeritus of the University of Cyprus Dr Vassos Karageorghis.
Her research is focused on ancient technology and specifically the production and trade of Cypriot copper through antiquity but also on the impact of this industry on the Cypriot landscape and environment. She has taken part and directed numerous field and analytical projects regarding her fields of expertise and has an extensive list of publications which include five edited volumes, two co-authored volumes and over one hundred articles in peer reviewed journals, edited volumes and conference proceedings. Prof. Kassianidou has coordinated several projects funded by the European Union (in FP7 and H2020) and by the Research and Innovation Foundation of Cyprus and participates in many more.
In July 2023 she was appointed by the President of the Republic of Cyprus as Deputy Minister of Culture. The Deputy Ministry of Culture was formed in July 2022 and it encompasses the Department of Antiquities, the Department of Contemporary Culture, the Cyprus Handicraft Service, the Cyprus Library and many other museums and foundations that are involved in cultural activities.
Until 1994 she worked as a post-doctoral researcher at the Institute of Archaeology, UCL and then she joined the faculty of the Department of History and Archaeology of the University of Cyprus in 1994 as a lecturer in Environmental Archaeology and Archaeometry. She was promoted to the rank of Professor in 2013. In May of 2023 she was elected Dean of the Faculty of Letters of the University of Cyprus. From 2015 to 2019 she was the Director of the Archaeological Research Unit of the University of Cyprus. From 2014 -2016 she served as the President of the Board of Trustees of the Cultural Foundation of the Bank of Cyprus. In 2014 she was appointed to the Board of Directors of the Cyprus National Commission for UNESCO, a position she has held until 2023. In 2018 the Ministers Council of the Republic of Cyprus appointed her as a member of the Board of Directors of the National Board of Research and Innovation. In 2022 she was elected Corresponding Member of the Archaeological Institute of America. The only other Cypriot archaeologist to receive this great honour was the former Director of the Department of Antiquities and Professor Emeritus of the University of Cyprus Dr Vassos Karageorghis.
Her research is focused on ancient technology and specifically the production and trade of Cypriot copper through antiquity but also on the impact of this industry on the Cypriot landscape and environment. She has taken part and directed numerous field and analytical projects regarding her fields of expertise and has an extensive list of publications which include five edited volumes, two co-authored volumes and over one hundred articles in peer reviewed journals, edited volumes and conference proceedings. Prof. Kassianidou has coordinated several projects funded by the European Union (in FP7 and H2020) and by the Research and Innovation Foundation of Cyprus and participates in many more.
In July 2023 she was appointed by the President of the Republic of Cyprus as Deputy Minister of Culture. The Deputy Ministry of Culture was formed in July 2022 and it encompasses the Department of Antiquities, the Department of Contemporary Culture, the Cyprus Handicraft Service, the Cyprus Library and many other museums and foundations that are involved in cultural activities.
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PAPERS by VASILIKI KASSIANIDOU
Despite these setbacks, the British Government remained determined to develop the mining industry, in order to reduce Cyprus’ dependence on agriculture. This was achieved shortly after the island was annexed to the British Empire in 1914, due in part to ancient written sources lauding Cyprus’ mineral wealth and copper mines: in 1912, an American prospector Charles Godfrey Gunther came to Cyprus, having stumbled upon these texts. Visiting the area of Skouriotissa on the recommendation of the Principal Forestry Officer A.K. Bovill, he was struck by the size of the slag heap. By 1916, the Cyprus Mines Corporation (CMC) had been established to exploit the deposits in the mining region of Solea and eventually all around the island. While working the ore deposits but also while setting up the mine’s infrastructure (such as miners’ villages and processing plants) antiquities came to light, some of which are of great archaeological importance. The aim of this paper is to explore the relationship between the revival of the modern Cypriot copper industry and archaeological activity, examining how the modern mining activities brought to light important aspects of Cyprus’s ancient mining heritage and contributed to the formation of private collections of antiquities.
Museum together with artefacts from the private collection of
Nikos Charalambides, a mining engineer and director of the
Kambia Mines company and others from the collection of the
Hellenic Mining Corporation (HMC) which were also donated
to the Department of Antiquities. The assemblage is unique
in that it includes artefacts made of organic materials, which
usually do not survive in archaeological sites in Cyprus. The
aim of this paper is to present the different types of mining
tools recovered but the restrictions regarding to the size of
this publication does not allow extensive discussion. This will
be published later on together with the results of radiocarbon
dating of some of these objects that we were allowed to
sample.
wreck. According to ancient sources, however, Cypriot copper was traded to the East already since the nineteenth century BC: in texts dating to the Old Babylonian period and found at Mari, Babylon and Alalakh there are several mentions to cop
per from Alashiya, the name by which Cyprus was known to her neighbours. The texts show that metal from the island was traded all the way to Babylon. It was probably exchanged for gold, tin, silver and lead which were not locally available but are found in tombs of this period. In what form, however, was Cypriot copper traded in the earlier phases of the Bronze Age? The aim of this paper is to discuss Cypriot ingots and especially the early forms of metal ingots produced on the island.