Chlorakas Palloures Excavation

29/05/2026

Soon, we will be back in the field! ☀️ We cannot wait to see what this season will bring. Keep your eyes peeled for new excavation content coming your way in just a few weeks. ⛏️

Here’s a message from one of our directors, Maria Hadjigavriel.

⬅️ Swipe left for English.

If you’d like to support the project and its ongoing research, please consider becoming a Friend of Palloures (link in bio).

18/05/2026

Monday merch baby! 📢 Get it while it’s hot!! 🔥💧
Palloures tote bags featuring our de facto (picrolite cruciform) mascot? A water bottle for all your hydration needs—with a cheeky, Palloures™ slogan of course.
What more could you want?
Except maybe to support the Friends of Palloures foundation, which every merch purchase does.
So go ahead, show your love for all things Palloures and Chalcolithic Cyprus, and head over to our link-in-bio 🔗
Multiple tote and bottle colours available, while supplies last! ❤️💜💙🧡💚💛
(Shells, actual figurines, and hefty publications sadly not included.)

Figurine photo by Ian J. Cohn

24/04/2026

Let us introduce the new Chair of the Friends of Palloures Foundation, Diederik Halbertsma! 😊

Diederik was part of the very first excavations at Palloures and has been Chair of the Foundation since January. 🏺

The link to become a member is in our bio. Your contribution directly supports the project, and we appreciate it a lot!

21/04/2026

https://spititiskyprou.gr/event/%cf%87%ce%b1%ce%bb%ce%ba%ce%bf%ce%bb%ce%b9%ce%b8%ce%b9%ce%ba%ce%ad%cf%82-%cf%83%cf%85%ce%bd%ce%b8%ce%b5%cf%84%cf%8c%cf%84%ce%b7%cf%84%ce%b5%cf%82-%cf%83%cf%84%ce%b7%ce%bd-%ce%ba%cf%8d%cf%80%cf%81/

Η διάλεξη εντάσσεται στην ετήσια σειρά διαλέξεων “Η αρχαιολογία της Κύπρου” και θα πραγματοποιηθεί στην Αγγλική γλώσσα. ΔΙΟΡΓΑΝΩΣΗ Σπίτι της Κύπρου Τμήμα Ιστορί....

10/04/2026

Palloures Groundstone! 🪨

In the past year we have shared a few of the many artefacts found at Palloures. As this series draws to an end we would like to share one of the projects MASSIVE finds:

This large stone mortar installation was discovered inside one of the site's impressive buildings, a circular structure measuring 14 meters in diameter with walls nearly 1 meter thick! (📸 Photo by Ian J. Cohn)

What do you think this enormous mortar could have been used for?
Drop your theories below! ⬇️

If you'd like to support the project and its ongoing research, please consider becoming a Friend of Palloures!



In the past year, we have shared a few of the many artefacts found at Palloures. As this series draws to an end we would like to share one of the projects MASSIVE finds::nds:

27/03/2026

A message from our Director Bleda Düring 🌻
Thank you to everyone who has contributed to our project!

If you would like to support the Palloures project, please consider becoming a Friend of Palloures (link in bio).

13/03/2026

Palloures Pottery! 🏺✨

Some patterns are not visible at first glance. For this reason, our pottery specialists use macroscopic and petrographic examination of the pottery’s fabrics to gain more insights.

Late Chalcolithic Red Monochrome Ware is a pottery type which is often used for large storage jars. This vibrant pottery makes up about 15% of all Late Chalcolithic ceramics found at the site!
Its fabric reflects a separate technological practice: a red-slipped exterior, untreated interior, and a brown cross-section with a large dark core. These features differ from other wares at the site, which suggests non-local production. Petrographic examination confirmed this idea, revealing a fabric dominated by amphibole, feldspars, and quartz.

Interested to learn more about how ceramic petrography provides insights into the site? Maria Hadjigavriel and Maria Dikomitou Eliadou present new data on the organisation of ceramic production in Late Chalcolithic Cyprus in their 2025 article: ‘Tracing Traditions: An Analytical Study of Late Chalcolithic Ceramics from Cyprus’.

If you'd like to support the project and its ongoing research, please consider becoming a Friend of Palloures!

13/03/2026

new paper by Victor and Miltiades on Chalcolithic seafaring

The Chalcolithic period in Cyprus (c. 3800–2500 Before Current Era [BCE]) has traditionally been characterized as a time of limited maritime engagement, due to sparse evidence for fishing and long-distance exchange. Recent evidence from skeletal material suggests that people did conduct maritime a...

27/02/2026

Aris Politopoulos, Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Archaeology at Leiden University and board member of the Friends of Palloures Foundation, shares more about how you can support our work.

The Foundation continues to do incredible work in promoting and sustaining our project, and every contribution helps us move forward. We’re incredibly grateful for all the support we receive.

The link to the Friends of Palloures Foundation is in our bio. 💚

12/02/2026

Palloures Groundstone! 🪨

At Chlorakas-Palloures, archaeologists have uncovered a variety of ground stone artefacts, typical of the Chalcolithic period.

In this image, you can see some of the finds from the site:
Top row: Axes
Bottom row (left to right): Adzes and a chisel
📸 Photo by Ian J. Cohn

Notably, some of the axes from Palloures feature incised side notches. This is a curious, nonfunctional detail also found on similar tools from this period.

If you’d like to support the project and further research into the site, please consider becoming a Friend of Palloures (link in bio).

11/02/2026

New Palloures merch alert🎉🎉🎉
This spiral necklace is inspired by a pendant found at our site, now proudly exhibited at the Cyprus Museum in Nicosia 😊
The necklaces were made by Souzana Petri, a talented Cypriot ceramicist and metal worker, and we couldn't be happier with how they turned out!
By buying a necklace (or any Palloures merch), you support the Friends of Palloures foundation, which promotes the excavations and research at Palloures ⛏
Find them here: https://palloures.eu/palloures-merch/spiral-necklace/