Friday, August 15, 2014

KOURION, CYPRUS—More evidence of the massive earthquake that devastated this part of Cyprus in the fourth century A.D. has been found, says Cyprus Mail. During excavations this summer, a team led by Thomas W. Davis of the Tandy Institute for Archaeology at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, uncovered the remains of two adults, a young child, and an infant, possibly an entire family lying close together trying to shelter under a building that may have been their home. The structure likely collapsed during the quake, burying its residents. In addition to the family’s remains, in the house the team also uncovered luxury goods including a yellow and green glass plate imported from Egypt. The city of Kourion was well known and written about frequently in antiquity, including by such authors as Ptolemy and Pliny, and has a long and rich history from at least the fourth century B.C. through the Christian eras.