Vitismicro-remains were found in the past at the Middle Bronze Age site of  Marki Alonia, near Nicosia  (Adams R. and Simmons D., 1996), but because of the lack of detailed descriptions and biometric measurements, at present they cannot be compared from the taxonomic and morphological standpoint with the seeds found at Pyrgos. These micro-remains raise a series of environmental questions regarding the geographic distribution of Vitison Cyprus (biogeography), biodiversity in the natural landscape, and species imported or partially domesticated-adapted by human activities. In this context, the oldest plant macro-remains seem to belong to the least defined probable biodiversity levels (Medail F. and Quezel P., 1997). In effect, it is very hard to judge biodiversity in archaeological contexts, due mainly to the fact that no certified methods exist yet for classifying these paleo-environmental structures, because the principal recognizable units represent different sectors of a highly variable anthropized environment.

Archaeobotanical, paleopalinological and sedimentological investigations plus exploration in the areas adjacent to the Pyrgos site (Lentini A. and Belgiorno M. R., 2008) have evidenced a series of environmental discontinuities that make Cyprus’s natural landscape a highly varied one, there by confirming indirectly the preliminary analytic results of the first investigations of stratigraphic sections (PY04G7 – 8 ) dating from between 1950 and 2000 B.C.

For the purposes of an initial comparison of the archaeobotanical data, we updated a map of rainfall distribution on Cyprus (Zohary M., 1973) with rainfall and temperature data for the period from 1973 to 2007, to produce an updated view of possible microclimates on the island. These data were collected at 25 weather stations (Figure no. 9) located irregularly across the island, some concentrated in the central part (the Mesaoria plain, from Nicosia to Famagosta), others on the West coast (from Morocampos to Episcopi) and still others near the heights of the Troodos mountains (from Platania to Trimiklini), with significant absences in the North East, the North West Figure no. 9 – Rain distribution in Cyprus. and on the southern coast. The weather data were processed with the aid of the Köppen formula (McKnight T.L. and  Hess D., 2000):

P1 = rainfall in mm                                       P2 = average rainfall in the driest month

T = average annual temperature  (°C)      t = average temperature in the driest month

Indexes <10 = arid climate

Indexes between 10 and 20 = subarid conditions

Indexes between 20 and 30 = subhumid conditions

The updated climate data – processed on the basis of contour lines obtained from cartographic elements reported in the past (Zohary M., 1973) show a distribution in eight microclimates that reflects the island’s geological and altimetric features. In fact, some areas are marked off by geographic barriers (the Trodos and Kyrenia mountains) and their characteristics of their plant populations are allopatric, while others are marked off by abiotic factors (climatic elements and soil characteristics) that operate in the same geographic area with various sympatric plant species.

On the northern side of the island, the Kyrenia mountain range about 100 km long and rising to over 1000 meters runs parallel to the coastline and forms a sort of natural barrier between the coast and the interior. The Kyrenia mountains are the Southernmost part of the Alpine-Himalayan range;  they are made up mainly of Mesozoic limestone and are characterized by low precipitation and thermoclastic phenomena. The Kyrenia rocks have low thermal conductivity values (Malikkides  C., 2006), which explains why large temperature differences occur between their outer and inner parts, generating stress that causes the rocks to crumble. Three microclimates were identified in this area (Figure no. 9), and are also found beyond the Mesaoria plain. The most extensive one, referable to the Kyrenia weather station (Fig. no. 9, no. 2), includes the mountainous area that slopes down to the sea, and is characterized by soils consisting for the most part of Dolomitic limestone with a high degree of salinity. Here the most representative biome is made up of Juniperus phoenicea(the Syriac element) and various seasonal halophytes, while Pinus brutiais present at the medium-to-high altitudes.

The second microclimate, referable to the Haleuga station (Fig. no. 9, no. 3), is divided into three small areas, distant from each other, at the highest altitudes in the Kyrenias; here the ground is rocky (sub-acid limestone) and there is no significant stable vegetation.

The third microclimate characterizes a large area with allopatric features, the northwest-northeast area between Kormakiti and the tip of Cape Andreas. It is monitored by only one weather station, at Vahlia (Fig. no. 9, no. 6). It is separated from the rest of the same distribution range by the Mesaoria plain to the south (Fig. no. 9) and southeast; by the desertified area monitored by the Morphou station (Fig. no. 9, no. 7) to the northwest; and, in the southern part of the island and to the southwest, by the lower reaches of the Troodos mountains, which slope down to the sea. Almost all the weather stations covering this microclimate are located along the coasts: at Ktima, Paphos, Morocampos, Petra tou Romiou and Episcopi in the southwest (Fig. no. 9, nos. 20-24), near Limassol in the south (Fig. no. 9, no. 25), and at Larnaca in the South East (Fig. no. 9, no. 14). Generally speaking, the soils in these areas have a medium texture; in the more internal areas they have a high carbonate content and are subject to frequent leaching phenomena, while in the areas adjacent to the coastline they are characterized by high percentages of sodium and potassium. The native vegetation consists of Irano-Turanic species (Cupressus sempervirens, Pinus halepensis and Cedrus ssp.) and Mediterranean species (Prunus, Pistacia, Olea europea L.,Quercus, Ceratonia, Myrtus andLaurus)variously distributed across the territory according to local variables (Meikle R. D., 1977, 1985). Growing near the short streams are Popolus, Salix, Miriophyllum ssp. and other aquatic grasses.

The fourth microclimate, with less than 300 mm of rainfall per year, according to the data reported by the Morphou weather station (Fig. no.9, no. 7), is the island’s only desertified area. As the soil is made up of calcareous sands with a high degree of salinity, it is subject to evapotranspiration phenomena. The vegetation that grows here during short periods of the year consists of alophytes (Chenopodiaceae, Amaranthaceae andSalsola ssp.).

The fifth microclimate is one of the island’s largest; it includes the Mesaoria plain, which has the highest concentration of weather stations, at Kokkini Trimithia, Nicosia, Athalassa, Prastio and Famagousta (Fig. no. 9, nos. 8-12). This territory, nearly all irrigated and farmed, is the one that has been most intensely affected by human activities over the course of history. It has a record of deforestation (Gomex Campo C., 1985), wildfires and farming methods that have eroded and impoverished the soil, leading to the formation of garrigues associated with anthropocore species, mainly Quercus coccifera, Olea europea L., Olea europea L. var. sylvestris (wild olive), Ceratonia ssp. (carob), Graminaceae, Genista ssp., Calycotome ssp., Chenopodiaceae-Amaranthaceae, Asteraceae, Labiatae and Compositae. The garrigue is the next to last stage in the regression of Mediterranean phytoclimatic associations, after the Oleo-Ceratonion xerophile scrub and before the steppe. Its widespread presence in a Mediterranean region can be taken as an indicator of desertification.

Also present in this microclimate are some wetlands that are considered marginal, including streams and lakes near Famagousta. They are characterized by associations of halophytes (Juncusssp., Spartinassp., Salicornia fruticosaand Arthrocnemum fruticosum).  In this area too, there is a disjunction toward the southeast, near the border between Kiti and Larnaca. In the spring, the vegetation here consists mainly of Ulvassp., Enteromorphassp. and Chaetomorphassp.

The other three microclimates are located in the Troodos mountains, at altitudes between 1600 and 1900 meters, and on up to the highest peak of  Mt. Olympus (1952 meters). They are monitored by weather stations at Platania, Prodhromos, Stravos, Trimiklini and Lania (Fig no. 9, nos. 15-19).  The limestone foothills are subject to Karst phenomena, with the formation of dolines and sinkholes. Sandstone and conglomerates are present in some parts of these areas. The vegetation on these lower slopes consists of evergreens (Cupressus sempervirens and Juni - perus phoenicea), semi-deciduous trees (Quercus cocciferaand Quercus infectoria) and Arbutus andrachne. Along the streams that flow down from the higher altitudes are large woods made up of Popolus, Salix and Alnus. At the lowest altitudes, near the sea, the beds of these streams usually remain dry during the spring and summer. At altitudes of around 900-1000 meters, Vitis viniferaL ssp. sativa Hegi is cultivated on manmade terraces with the “little tree” method (Figure no. 8). The vines, each one set in a small hollow that protects the grapes from the hot winds, are pruned to a height of 30-40 centimeters. A few “branches” grow on each “tree,” each branch is left with one or more shoots,  each shoot with one or two buds.

The territories lying above 1000 meters in the Troodos mountains are made up of igneous and pillow-lava formations originated by molten lava that poured into the sea as the Eurasiatic plate drifted away from the Arabian plate. The biome most representative of these areas is the vast pine woods, made up mainly of Pinus brutia and the endemic species Cedrus brevifolia, associated with Quercus alnifolia, likewise an endemic species. At the higher altitudes near Mt. Olympus are Pinus palladianawoods, with Juniperus foetidissimapresent in the glades.

The pine forest was Cyprus’s original biome, and in the past it probably covered a large part of the island (Quezel P., 1979). At present this biome occupies some residual areas near Paphos (at sea level), as well as the areas at the highest altitudes. In the past, human activities and climate changes seem to have drastically impoverished the original biome (Lentini A. and Belgiorno, 2008).

Overall, the vegetation on Cyprus, as in other Mediterranean areas, is the result of glacial movements in the Quaternary era, when species native to continental Europe retreated to territories on the Mediterranean Sea. Besides furthering the preservation of these northern species, the Mediterranean areas became the evolutionary environments of individual species (Strasburger E., Noll F. and Schenck H., 1990). Cyprus was one of the Mediterranean islands whose particular orographic features encouraged the phylogenetic evolution of many species, and today it is especially rich in endemic species (Pantelas V., Papachristophorou T. and Christodoulou P., 1993). Endemisms are widespread on many Mediterranean islands (Sardinia, Corsica, Sicily, Malta, Cyprus, Crete, Zante), where conditions are favorable for speciation, due to the presence of geographic and abiotic barriers that hinder dispersion of the original genetic makeup. They are especially numerous on the islands that have been separated longest from the mainland. The great diversity of habitats and microclimates on Cyprus makes for an abundance of native species. Their number is estimated at 179 (Pantelas V. et alii., 1993), and their distribution ranges from the Troodos mountains (87) to the Kyrenias (57) and the Akamas peninsula (35). Systematic botanists consider some of them, such as the Cyprus cedar (Cedrus brevifolia)and the Cyprus oak (Quercus alnifolia) to be living fossils (Pantelas V. et alii., 1993). The aromatic species Nepeta troodi, Teucrium cyprium,Teucrium micropodioides, Thymus integer, Salvia willeana andOriganum cordifoliumare thought to be among the major evolutionary lines of the officinal species that are most widespread and best known in the Mediterranean region.

Very rare bulb species such as Cyclamen cyprium, Tulipa cypria, Crocus cyprius, Crocus veneris, Chionodoxa lochiaeand Gagea juliaehave sometimes been used as officinal species (IUCN – Centres of Plant Diversity, 1994), and on some occasions in the past were pictured on pottery, mosaics and other objects of high artistic value (Codex Julianae Aniciae). Cyprus’s location at the southeastern boundary between the Mediterranean region, the Pontic region (the Irano-Turanic element) and the Near East (the Syriac and Nubo-Sindic elements) (Zohary D., 1996) does not seem to have effectively influenced the most important endemic species; they were probably preserved  by the island’s microclimates and particular edaphic conditions.

Our analysis of the seeds of the various species of Vitis found at Pyrgos, taken together with theresults of the sedimentological and paleopalinological tests, indicates that optimal conditions existed for the cultivation of Vitis at low altitudes (100 – 200 m) near the sea (4 km away), in an environment very different from the one in which Vitis viniferaL. ssp. sativa Hegi is cultivated today on the slopes of the Trodos mountains, at much higher altitudes (900-1100 meters). The preliminary results obtained at Pyrgos suggest that the local climate was cool and moist, as has been found at other southern Mediterranean sites dating from 1900-2000 B.C. (Palmieri A. M., 1980; Belluomini G., Esu D., Mandra L. and Matteucci R., 1980; Bar-Yosef O., 1990; Lentini A. and Palmieri A. M., 1993; Palmieri A. M. and Lentini A., 1994; Rögl F., 1999). In those environmental conditions, when the climate was cool and moist, the vegetation now found at medium and high altitudes likely grew at lower altitudes closer to the sea. Later on, due partly to the evolution of the climate and the environment in all the Mediterranean territories toward sub-arid periods (Barbero M. and Quezel P., 1979), and partly to increasingly intense human activities, the most representative biocenoses gradually moved to higher altitudes, where the environmental conditions were still cool and moist.

Alessandro Lentini

CNR – Institute for Technologies Applied to Cultural Heritage, Rome – Italy.

Tags: Akamas, Alessandro Lentini, ancient perfume, archaeobotanical data, Archaeometry and Archaeology, Ayios Tichonas, CNR – Institute for Technologies Applied to Cultural Heritage, cultivation of Vitis, Episcopi, Erimi, Erimi necropolis, Famagousta, fermentation, glycolysis, Ktima, Kyrenia, Larnaca, Limassol, Limassol Archaeological Museum, Maria Rosaria Belgiorno, Materials and Method, Mavroraki, Morocampos, Morphou, Paphos, Perfume of Cyprus, Petra tou Romiou, Pyrgos, Pyrgos-Mavrorak, tartaric acid, Troodos, wine amphorae

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