Tenta, also referred to as Kalavasos-Tenta or Tenda, is an Aceramic Neolithic settlement located in modern Kalavasos near the southern coast of Cyprus. The settlement is approximately 38 kilometres southwest of Larnaca and approximately 45 kilometres south of Nicosia. Tenta occupies a small natural hill on the west side of the Vasilikos valley, close to the Nicosia–Limassol highway.
The earliest occupation at the site has been dated to around 8000 BC, which is contemporary with the sites Shillourokambos and Mylouthkia, and notably predating Khirokitia by almost a millennium. It was still settled during the 6th millennium BC, but deserted at some point before the advent of the Cypriotic Ceramic Neolithic.
Six seasons of excavation in Tenta occurred from 1947 to 1984. The obtained data is of interest to studies of cultural change in Prehistoric Cyprus because Tenta's architectural remains, artefacts, human burials, flora and fauna have been "virtually unchanged for two millennia, suggesting that there was considerable continuity in social organisation as well as technological and economic practices."
Today, the site is open to visitors (with entrance fee), and protected by a characteristic, modern cone-shaped roof. The roof is considered a local landmark, and the site a popular tourist attraction.
Background and name
The Vasilikos valley is located in the Larnaca District of southern Cyprus. The valley was known to be abundant in archaeological sites from numerous extensive surveys conducted due to excavations of accidentally discovered sites; however these sites were widely scattered in Cyprus.
According to local tradition, the name of the location refers back to 327 AD when Saint Helena, mother of Constantine I, stayed there in a tent (). Helena supposedly pitched her tent after walking up the Vasilikos valley (), vasilikos meaning "royal place or land".
Excavation history
The archealogical site of Tenta was first reported by Porphyrios Dikaios in 1940 when artefacts were discovered during the construction of a mining railway line. In 1947, Dikaios undertook a two-week archaeological excavation focused 25 metres south of the summit of Tenta. Eleven locals and several students from Brandeis University were employed to assist with the excavation. A detailed report of the excavation was never published, but a plan of the excavation was released in 1960, which showed a trench being excavated approximately five metres below and adjacent to a curvilinear wall.
Since many sites of Cyprus had only been fleetingly explored, Vassos Karageorghis, the Director of the Department of Antiquities of Cyprus, worked with Ian Todd, who had previously assisted in numerous excavations in Turkey and Iran, to direct the Vasilikos Valley project which included five seasons of excavation in Tenta between 1976 and 1984. The project was sponsored by Brandeis University and funded by the National Science Foundation.
To locate sites, Todd walked nineteen different transects across the valley from east to west – from the Kalavasos Dam to the coast. Each transect was positioned equidistant from each other. Problems of the archaeological field survey in Cyprus include erosion as many sites were situated on different gradients, which often affects the estimation of the size of a site as well as makes it more challenging for surveyors to find where artefacts are located. Furthermore, aggradation was also considered to be a potential problem impacting the discovery of sites due to the increase in land elevation.
Although the excavations ended in 1984, details about the findings were published as late as 2005.